You Can't Go Home Again
by Edie Zee
Summary: Sam gets a chance to catch up with his old college buddies, only to find out that things were never really “normal” there either. Dean, meanwhile, goes on a hunt by himself.
1. Chapter 1

Title: You Can't Go Home Again

Author: Edie Zee

Rating: Uh…I'm bad at these. Let's go PG-13 for now, and go from there.

Summary: Sam gets a chance to catch up with his old college buddies, only to find out that things were never really "normal" there either. Dean, meanwhile, goes on a hunt by himself.

Timeline: Not sure when this takes place, but definitely after "What is and What should never Be" but not including anything about Sam's resurrection/ Dean's crossroads deal because I just don't want to deal with that.

Chapter 1

Headlights lit up the winding highway, which was empty except for the black Impala. In deference to his sleeping brother, Dean had turned the music low – it was _never_ turned off. Tapping his fingers to the beat on the steering wheel, Dean smiled to himself as he passed the sign signaling that he was "now entering California."

Dean glanced over at Sam, and his grin grew wider. Thanks to a little "something extra" Dean had slipped into Sam's beer at dinner, the younger man had been sleeping soundly for hours. That something extra was necessary because Dean didn't want his brother to realize where they were going until they got there. It was a surprise, after all.

Sam, obviously, knew they were going to California. But he _thought_ they were going to go do a simple salt-and-burn in Sacramento. And that's exactly what Dean would be doing. But, for what would surely be an easy job, Dean knew he could easily spare his brother. Guilt had been weighing on him since the whole Djinn incident, as he thought about his brother having a "normal" life. So, when he first had heard rumblings of a ghost in California, he hatched a plan that would allow Sam to spend some time with his old college friends.

A while later, Dean reached the outskirts of Palo Alto, remembering the irregular trips he and his dad would take here to check up on Sammy during his time at school. And then he remembered all the co-eds he picked up. He chuckled to himself, which seemed to be enough to finally knock Sam out of his chemical-induced sleep.

The younger, taller man groaned, trying his best to stretch – which the passenger seat of a '67 Impala was not the most conducive to. Meanwhile, Dean, with a big grin on his face, surreptitiously snuck glances at him, eagerly waiting for Sam to notice his surroundings. Instead, Sam rubbed his palms into his eyes, yawning loudly.

Then – _finally_ – he looked out the window and froze, hands caught halfway between his face and his lap. Dean laughed outright at the look on his face.

"Uh, Dean."

"Yeah, Sammy."

"I thought we were going to Sacramento."

"I'm going to Sacramento. You get a few days to hang out with the rest of the old Geek Squad."

"Dean, you can't go off and do a job on your own."

"Dude, I'm 28. Don't forget, I used to do quite a few jobs on my own. Come on, man. This is a simple salt-and-burn. You haven't seen your friends in ages."

"Aren't you the one always telling me that, in our line of work, it's not good to have friends?"

"_Now_ you start listening to me?" Dean focused on the road ahead, trying not to let on how important it was to him that he be able to give Sam this opportunity. "Why are you fighting me on this?"

Sam was quiet for a minute, staring out the window at the once-familiar city passing by outside. It was still early on a Sunday morning, so many of the college kids were still sleeping it off. A few people were out jogging or starting off on a "walk of shame." His heart panged at the sight of his old stomping grounds, remembering all the times he had with his friends … and with Jess. That was what was making him the most worried – except for helping out Rebecca a year or so ago, he hadn't really spent any time with any of his friends since Jess had died. He knew they would bring back memories, memories he wasn't quite sure he wanted to recall.

However, the hardest part was the sickening realization that those memories wouldn't be as painfully raw as they used to be. While he would always love and miss her, he was truly over her. And that made him feel guilty as hell.

But he couldn't explain any of that to Dean. That would be way too much of a chick flick scene for his older brother. Not to mention that, now that he was thinking about his old friends, he did really want to see them.

"OK." He said quietly, more to the window than to Dean.

"Good, because I wasn't gonna take no for an answer anyway."

"It's too early to call any of them. How 'bout we have breakfast before you leave for Sacramento."

"Sounds good."

"And Dean," Sam turned to give him a pointed look. "I expect to hear from you every day so I know that you're alright. And if you need help with anything, come get me."

"Deal."

* * *

Sam remained sitting in the booth at his old favorite restaurant, sipping his coffee as he watched Dean peel out of the parking lot. The older Winchester had wanted to get on the road, so Sam said he would "pay" the bill when he was done – especially since he wanted to wait until at least 11 before calling his old roommate Jake.

A smile sprung up as he thought of Jake, with whom he had shared a dorm his first two years at school and a small, messy, one-room apartment with furnishing and linoleum that looked like it came straight out of the 1970s the third year. His last year at Stanford, when he moved in to his place with Jess, Jake moved in with his girlfriend, Sarah – Jess' best friend. She'd probably be the hardest person for Sam to see… In an e-mail a couple weeks ago, Jake had said that he and Sarah moved into a bigger place with two younger girls that Sarah worked with. Splitting expenses would give Jake and Sarah more money for grad school. Sam didn't know those three girls, so he hoped they didn't mind some stranger crashing on the couch.

Checking his watch to see he had at least another 45 minutes to kill, Sam decided to walk around campus for awhile. He went up to the register to pay a young girl – probably not much more than a freshman – with a credit card issued to John Carmichael. Feeling a twinge of guilt as he signed the fake name, Sam quickly left.

Memories came flooding back as he walked past Branner Hall, where he lived as a freshman. Thinking back, he was surprised that Jake even put up with him. At that time, he was still reeling from the fight with his father and being told to "stay gone." He was aching to be able to talk to Dean, but his older brother just couldn't understand his reasons. He was jumping at every bump in the night because he didn't dare to put up salt lines but felt highly vulnerable without that protection.

To deal with it, Sam had thrown himself into his studying – figuring that if he had thrown everything away for the chance at an education, he better make the most out of it. Jake and Jess – who was "just a friend" then – worked hard to bring him out of his shell. They didn't truly succeed until the day he and Jess crossed the line into more than friends…

Flashback

"Alright, Sam. What's the equation for kinetic energy?" Jess asked from the pile of notecards in her hands. She was sitting cross-legged at the foot of his dorm bed, facing him, while he leaned back against the wall near the top of the bed. They were studying for the midterm in their physics class, being the only two who were currently taking the general requirement course together.

"Aaaah… one half times mass times velocity squared."

"Yep."

Jess, who was very focused on getting a good grade in the course as she wasn't too comfortable with the subject, quickly flipped to the next card. Before she could read it, however, Sam reached out to cover both it and her hands with his larger hands.

"Jess. Come on. Let's take a break. We've been studying for two hours."

She hesitated briefly, staring at their hands. "OK."

"Alright, I'll buy you some ice cream."

Deciding to take their ice cream cones and walk around, they leisurely strolled around campus.

"So," Jess asked. "Are you going to be able to see you dad and brother over Thanksgiving?

Sam clammed up, unsure of how to answer without letting on that something was wrong in the Winchester family. When asked, he usually told his friends that his dad traveled a lot because he was in a private, security-consulting business, and that Dean was following him into that line of work. "Business was booming" and that's why neither had been able to make it up to visit him since school started – or even at orientation and move-in.

"Uh, no, I don't think so. I think Dad and Dean will be in Iowa that week.

"That's too bad."

"Uh-huh."

The two stopped to throw out their napkins and the paper that had encircled the bottom of the cones. Jess went to sit on a nearby bench, and Sam joined her. For some reason, he was more acutely aware of how close they were sitting now than when they had been on his bed in the dorm room. It just … felt different, for some reason.

"Wellll…," Jess turned to look at him with a glint in her eye. "You could always celebrate the holiday with me and my family."

"Oh, no. I wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense, Sam. I couldn't let you do nothing on Thanksgiving. I…I care about you too much to do that."

Sam's head jerked up, his eyes meeting hers. _Does that mean what I think it means? What is she saying? Why does she have to be so confusing?_

He was too busy trying to figure out her words that he failed to pay attention to the slight blush that covered her cheeks. She, however, must have seen something in his face that he couldn't discern in hers, because _she_ was the one that made the first move. Hesitantly at first and then with more confidence, she leaned forward to gently catch his lips with hers.

End Flashback

Tears sprung to Sam's eyes. He was sitting on the exact same park bench, his hand where she had been sitting.

"I'm sorry, Jess. So sorry." He whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: You Can't Go Home Again

Author: Edie Zee

Rating: Uh…I'm bad at these. Let's go PG-13 for now, and go from there.

Summary: Sam gets a chance to catch up with his old college buddies, only to find out that things were never really "normal" there either. Dean, meanwhile, goes on a hunt by himself.

Timeline: Not sure when this takes place, but definitely after "What is and What should never Be" but not including anything about Sam's resurrection/ Dean's crossroads deal because I just don't want to deal with that.

Chapter 2

A little less than two hours after he left Sammy in his dust, Dean pulled into a Sacramento motel. Contrary to his brother, Dean felt no guilt when he used a fake credit card to register into room 16. Dropping off his bag in the room, Dean checked his appearance – _great, as always _– before leaving again to try and catch Bill on his lunch break.

Bill was the guy who called Dean about a potential haunting in the school at which he taught. Dean and his dad met Bill a couple years ago, when they were in the area to check up on Sammy and rescued the young man from being a werewolf's dinner.

Dean felt shivers go up his spine walking into the high school. He could hunt with the best of them, but schools scared the crap out of him. He had been ecstatic when he finally finished and could truly join their father in hunting.

Not to mention that some high school students could be more monstrous than anything he'd ever met on the road…

Signing in at the office, the middle-aged secretary pointed him in the direction of Bill's classroom. Dean slung the visitor's badge around his neck and headed that way, smirking at the looks he was getting from the young girls who were trying to get to where they were supposed to be in the crowded hallways.

However, it was he that stopped in his tracks at the sight of one woman: auburn hair, tan skin, thin but with curves in all the right places.

"Dear God, please let her be over 18. Please let her be over 18." The silent mantra ran through his head as he made his way toward her – thankfully, she was in the same direction as Bill's classroom.

"Miss Dawson?"

A young voice called out from behind him. The beauty in front of him turned quickly, and Dean saw that she was indeed over 18 – was, in fact, one of the teachers.

"Thank you, Lord," he whispered under his breath.

Unable to think of a reason to stop, he was forced to walk past her to get to his destination. He was able to briefly catch her eye and toss off one of his most charming grins. Dean was floored, though, when that only netted him a polite, tiny smile in return as she turned her full attention to the student who had called out for her.

"Huh…" Dean said, shaking his head. Reaching his destination, he quickly peeked in to see a classroom empty except for Bill, sitting at his desk in the back.

"Hey, man."

"Dean!" Bill stood up and walked to Dean, holding out his hand to shake Dean's. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem. How are you?"

"Good, good. And yourself? Your Dad?"

"Uh, I'm good. Dad…" Dean cleared his throat. "Well, Dad is dead."

"Oh my God," Bill's face dropped. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Thanks."

Bill cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable on how to proceed after that conversation. Dean took pity on him and piped up first.

"So you think you got a haunting, huh?"

Despite the fact that the room was clearly empty, Bill anxiously looked around. "Sorry. I just don't want people thinking I'm crazy or something. Sometimes, I still think I am…"

"Hey, if you're crazy, I'm crazy."

Bill smiled. "Well, after the last time with you and your Dad, I did some reading, tried to learn some of the basics about your line of work. So I'm pretty sure about this."

Gesturing to one of the empty desks, Bill took one nearby. Dean grimaced before easing himself into the seat.

"God, this brings back memories."

Bill laughed. "Every day, when I walk in, I always have a brief moment of panic before I remember I'm the teacher, not one of the students."

Dean chuckled. "Ok, so what's the deal?"

"Well, for about two weeks now, we've been having flickering lights and other electrical problems, even though the electrician says there appears to be no problems. This wing of the school regularly gets incredibly cold. And, just this last week, students started getting hurt in these freak accidents. One fell down a flight of stairs, but she claims someone pushed her. Another came _this close_ to being crushed by a light fixture that broke off from the ceiling."

"Hmmm… certainly sounds like a haunting. Do you know anything about the history of this building?"

"No, sorry. The library might have something."

"Alright, well, I'll go see what I can find out."

Dean was almost out the door before he thought about the beauty in the hallway. "Hey, Bill. I might need to _talk_ with some of the other teachers. Do you want me to give them any kind of story?"

"Oh, boy. I can't think of anything off the top of my head. You're good at that kind of thing – whatever you come up with!"

Dean grinned and walked out into an, unfortunately, empty hallway.

* * *

Sam's finger hovered over the talk button on his cell phone. Jake's number was highlighted on the display screen, but Sam was hesitating. Not because he didn't want to see the old roomie, but because he wanted to think of a better way of doing it. He wanted to surprise him…

A few names down on the list was "Lisa," which caught his eye. Lisa, one of their mutual friends, was also downright devious. She'd help him think of something fun. The phone rang twice before he heard a loud "hello." It had to be loud, as there were several voices in the background, shouting and laughing.

"Lees?"

"Yeah…who is this? Hold on." The voices faded. "Sorry, I can hear now. Who is this?"

"Lees, it's Sam."

Sam pulled the phone away from his ear to protect it, since the girl on the other end was now shrieking in excitement. "OH MY GOD, It's been so long!!"

"I know, I know. And I'm sorry. But listen – I need your help with something."

"What?"

"Well, I'm in town." Sam paused for another shriek to make its way out of Lisa's system. "I wanted to surprise Jake, but I don't know what he's up to right now, or even where he lives."

"Well, I can answer both. Right now, he and Sarah and their roommates and me are having a barbecue at their house." She rattled off the address, almost too fast for Sam to jot it down.

"Do you think it'll be okay for me to crash the party, then?

"Uhhh, _yeah._" Sam smiled at her tone, amused by the fact that she already sounded fairly inebriated for so early in the day. Unless, of course, she was still feeling the effects from last night.

"Good. Don't tell anyone I'm coming, OK? I'll be there in, maybe, 15 minutes."

"OK. I can't wait!!"

Lisa hung up her phone and returned to the backyard with a facial expression that screamed "mischief" to her friends. Jake, at the grill, only spared her a glance as he worked on getting the food ready. The girls, however, could easily tell something was up and pounced on her.

"What's going on?"

"Why do you have that look on your face?"

"C'mon, really. What's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"Oh, really. Then who was on the phone?"

"Just a friend."

The girls, being girls, leapt to the conclusion that it was a _male_ friend who Lisa wanted to be _more than that_. Sarah and Maia looked genuinely excited about the prospect that someone was interested in her, but Elena's face showed a brief, sour look that she quickly hid. Lisa was more than happy to let Elena think whatever she wanted because she couldn't actually stand the girl. Elena was a bit of a bitch, who couldn't get a guy to date her instead of just use her for sex. However, she got what she deserved because she usually tried to get any guy she could get her grubby claws into – even ones who already had girlfriends.

Maia, meanwhile, was a sweet, wonderful, smart girl who deserved all the love and friendship she got. Unfortunately, she was kind of quiet and didn't put herself out there for guys, so she didn't get much of _that_ kind of love.

Lisa practically gasped out loud as her brain threw together the idea of Sam and Maia. Lisa fancied herself a matchmaker, even though she had never actually successfully hooked anybody up… But, hey, there's always a first time. Of course, she wouldn't try unless she was sure Sam was ready for that. He had loved Jess so much…

As her friends tried to weasel more information out of her, Lisa subtly checked her watch. Just a few minutes to go…

"Wow, you're actually letting Jake make the food? He can't cook for shit." Sam's voice boomed out from the side of the house. Everyone looked over – Maia and Elena in confusion at who this stranger was, the others in joy (and shock in the cases of Sarah and Jake).

"Sammmmm!!!!!" Sarah shrieked, running over to him and launching herself into his arms. Jake, who was in the middle of turning the steaks over, finished up the task quickly and ran over as well. The former roommates met in a big, back-pounding bear hug.

Sarah looked back at Lisa, false indignation in her voice as she asked, "Is this who called?" Lisa busted up laughing, nodding her head, before she too went over for a hug.

Sarah and Lisa dragged the tall, smiling Sam over to their picnic table and lawn chairs, while Jake went inside to get him a beer.

"Girls, this is Sam Winchester," Sarah said. "Sam, these are Jake's and my roommates, Elena and Maia." The three nodded, smiled and shared a "hey." Lisa noted that Elena was already staring at Sam like he was a piece of meat and had to repress a glare at the girl. Then, she not-so-subtly took the chair next to Sarah so that Sam was left to sit in between her and Maia.

Sarah and Lisa then proceeded to fire off questions in Sam's general direction. "How long are you here for?," What have you been up to?," "Is your brother here, too?," "When are you going to come back to school?," "How are you _doing _Sam, really?"

Sam held up his hands in mock surrender, laughing. "Ahhh….let me see if I can get this all. A couple days, probably. Still on the road trip with Dean. He's not here; he's taking care of some business in Sacramento. I don't know. And good."

"Leave the poor guy alone." Jake said, coming back out of the house. "C'mon man, leave the estrogen and come help me with the grill. We're MEN after all." Sarah rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, but didn't protest as Sam stood up to join him. She knew the two would want to catch up without them around. Plus, if they were quiet enough, she and Lisa could share the gossip with Elena and Maia. And all girls like a little gossip now and then…

Apparently, they were thinking the same thing. As soon as the boys were out of earshot, all four girls leaned together. Elena voiced the question for both her and Maia.

"Who is that?"

"Well, do you remember me telling you about my friend, Jess. She died in a fire a couple years ago?" Both girls nodded. "Sam, there, was her boyfriend. He, uh, he was able to get out in time, but apparently he…" Tears sprung to Sarah's eyes so Lisa, who wasn't as good of friends with Jess as the other girl, took over.

"Apparently, he _saw_ Jess on fire. It really messed him up – they had been together for … about three years." She looked to Sarah for confirmation on that fact before continuing. "He joined his brother on a road trip - which apparently is still going on. Two years for a road trip is a little excessive, I'd say…"

Sarah, who had recovered by now, jumped in, "And the really sad thing is, Jess wouldn't have wanted that for him. The day after the fire he was supposed to have had an interview with the law program here. Depending on how that went, he would have had a full ride. I mean, I know he was really upset, but Jess wouldn't have wanted him throwing away everything he worked for just to drive around with his brother for a couple _years_."

"Now for the important question," Elena piped up. "Is he over her?" Lisa wanted to growl at the predatory look the younger girl had in her eyes, but surprisingly Maia was the first to speak up.

"My goodness, Elena. Didn't you hear what they said – his girlfriend of three years _died._"

"Yeah, but that was _two _years ago…"

Lisa couldn't resist letting some of her true thoughts soak through in her next statement. "Actually, I think Maia is more of Sam's type than you, Elena…"

Sarah gasped, excited – and focusing all her attention on this new line of conversation to avoid having to think about her dead friend any longer. "You guys would be good together." She couldn't get Jess completely out of her head though, so added, "And I think Jess would have really liked you too. You'd be the kind of girl she'd want for Sam."

Maia blushed a deep scarlet while Elena glowered. "OK, I've _seen_ pictures of Jess. I'm definitely not his type."

"Hey, just because Sam dated a blonde bombshell doesn't mean he's the shallow type. He's big on personality over looks. He's a really good guy."

"OK, let's just change the topic." Maia hated when attention was on her – especially about guys.

Laughter erupted from near the grill, and the girls looked over at the former roommates drinking beer, talking and beginning to take the cooked food off the grill.

"Can you guys keep it down; we're trying to have some serious girl talk over," Sarah called out to her boyfriend in what everyone had dubbed her "Jake's so whipped" voice.

The boys came over, each carrying plates loaded with steak and potatoes wrapped in tinfoil. They dished them out and dug in before the girls were even ready to start eating.

"Boys. Always hungry," Lisa said with a shake of her head.

Jake stopped inhaling his food long enough to raise his head and ask what the "serious girl talk" conversation was all about.

"Oh," Sarah said nonchalantly. "We were talking about how we want Sam to stay in Palo Alto, and the best way to ensure that is to hook him up with someone."

Sam had been taking a swig of his beer at that moment, so immediately started choking on it. Pounding his chest with his hand, he hoped he wasn't blushing too hard.

"Uh, no thanks. Besides, I told you, I'm leaving in a couple days."

"Then that gives us a couple days to change your mind." Lisa said with a big, pointed grin in his direction.

Sam just shook his head, smiled and took another swig of beer. Turning his attention back to the food, he hoped the subject would change soon. Alas, he was not that lucky.

"So, have you been on any dates lately, Sam?" Sarah asked

Sam felt almost guilty answering Jess' best friend about this, but he did. "A couple, here and there. It's kind of hard with driving around so much."

"And that's why you should stick in one place for awhile. Like Stanford. And go to law school at the same time." Lisa offered matter-of-factly.

"Who cares about dates? The real question is, have you gotten laid recently?" Jake joked, waggling his eyebrows. He knew his former roommate well enough to know Sam wasn't the type to kiss and tell, but he couldn't resist joining in on the teasing.

Sam chuckled. "You sound like Dean."

"Which," Lisa interjected, "is a perfect segue to something I've been wondering. You guys are apparently on your "little road trip" still. How on earth can you afford that?"

"Don't you remember – Dean followed in my Dad's footsteps and does security consultations. I've been helping him out on a few of those jobs. This road trip hasn't been just all fun and games."

"Ok, ok. Sorry, didn't mean to imply you were just goofing off."

Sam grinned. "Oh, we've done our fair share of that, too."

"So you _have_ gotten laid," Jake teased. Sam shook his head and stood to go get himself another beer without answering.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry it took a while. Reviews help me write faster...hint...hint...:)

Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Sam was awake early the next morning; the couch was just a little too short for him to be comfortable on. He laid flat on his back, with one knee up in the air, propped against the back of the couch, and the other leg resting on the ground. Glancing at his watch, he groaned when he saw it was only 5:30 a.m. Bedtime hadn't been that long ago. The girls had gone to sleep early, but he and Jake stayed up late catching up over a few more beers.

He knew he wasn't going to fall asleep again – what with the sunlight shining in through the ineffective blinds, and the birds singing away.

Oh well, just because he was on vacation doesn't mean he should let all of his training go out the window. Running about 5 miles or so should do it…

Sam flung the blankets off him and rolled off the couch. After going to the bathroom and changing into workout clothes, he went into the kitchen to see if there was anything he could drink first. His mouth felt awfully dry – which was odd, since he and Dean often drank more than he and Jake had.

Walking into the kitchen, Sam stopped dead in his tracks when he found he was not alone. Maia was in there, drinking a glass of orange juice. She too was in workout clothes.

"Hi," Sam said after a moment.

"Hey. What are you doing up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep anymore. I was going to go for a run."

"Me too." She downed the rest of her juice and rinsed the glass out. "Would you like to go together?"

"Sure."

Sam grabbed a quick glass of juice while Maia stretched. He tried hard not to watch – he'd been trying not to watch her all last night too. She was not gorgeous like Jess had been, and definitely did not look like the skanky beauties that Dean favored. But there was something about her – almost a _quiet_ kind of appeal. She had grown on him last night, even though they hadn't spoken that much. She had seemed awfully shy, so Sam was surprised that she invited him to come with her. Probably, she was only being polite – there was no way she'd be interested in him after all the teasing about dating and getting laid last night. She didn't seem like the kind of girl that would fall for someone that others made out to be a player.

If only he could tell her he was not like that. But that would probably scare her away more than anything else.

Sam let her lead the way and set the pace. With his long legs and conditioned body, he could have easily gone quite a lot faster than he was. But, currently, he was running a little bit behind Maia. Dean would be proud if he saw Sam running with such ulterior motives.

For the first mile or so, they didn't talk. Sam told himself it was because he didn't know if she wanted to talk – but if he was being honest with himself, he was actually a little bit nervous about making a fool out of himself. He knew he would have to say something soon, though – he'd kick himself if he wasted a perfect opportunity like this. Not to mention, if Dean ever found out, he'd never let him forget about how much of a chicken he was…

"So Maia, what are you studying?"

She turned to look at him and smile before focusing her attention back on the road. "Poli Sci and history."

"Ah, let me guess – Pre-law."

"Ding ding ding!"

"Have you had Sumpter yet?

"Oh, yeah. I love him. I'm going to try and take another class with him next semester."

"He was my advisor. Great guy. Are you going to apply to the law program here or where are you going to go?"

"This would be my first choice, but I'm applying to a couple other places too. Just in case."

"I'm sure you'll get in here. Jake says you study more than I used to."

Maia laughed, and Sam couldn't help but smile at the sound. She had such a carefree laugh.

"So are you ever going to finish your degree? Sarah says you were just applying to law programs when you left with your brother." She didn't really look at him when she asked the question. Sam thought she seemed kind of embarrassed – maybe about the fact that they had obviously gossiped about him.

"I'd like to someday, but Dean…needs me right now. Our dad passed away a little while ago. They were really close. Plus, now Dean needs help with the family business with Dad gone."

"I'm sorry about your Dad. Were you close with him too?"

Sam didn't answer for a few seconds, wrapped in the grief and regret for the last couple years.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be too personal."

"Oh, no. No, don't worry about it. My dad and I had a very … strained relationship for a lot of years. We did manage to reconcile shortly before he died. I'm glad for that, but I miss the good years we could have had together."

"I understand. I'm kind of the same way with my sister. She made some choices a couple years ago that I didn't approve of. When I tried to help her, she thought I was trying to be a second mom. We've only just started talking again last month."

"You only have the one sister?"

"No, I have an older brother too. He's in med school right now. "

"Your parents must be really proud – a doctor and a lawyer."

Maia laughed again. "I haven't passed the bar yet, Sam."

Sam laughed too, but his spirits quickly dropped when he saw the house coming back into view. He didn't want their time to be over so quickly.

"So I heard something about the family business being security consultations. What do you do for that?"

"Oh… we just look at people's buildings or homes and make recommendations for changes. Stuff like that."

"You guys must be pretty good – pretty well-known – if you travel all over the country for it."

"Well, the people who know about us know we provide a good service. We're also good at scaring up new clients." Sam was amazed at how easily lies came off his tongue now. When he lied to his college friends before, it had been much harder. Maybe Dean and all the fake names and backgrounds they've used the last couple years were rubbing off on him.

About half a block from the house, Maia slowed down into a walk to cool down. Sam never really bothered with cool downs, but he was happy to do it this time. Anything for a few more minutes with her. Now if only he could use these minutes productively. _Think, think. What would Dean do? No, what Dean would do wouldn't work on this girl. I can't very well say "so does your boyfriend…?" because that would just be too embarrassing. God, I'm wasting time…_

"So this was fun. We should run together again before you leave," Maia broke into his thoughts. He smiled at the slight blush that spread across her cheeks. _Maybe I don't have to worry too much about making a move…_

"Yeah, that would be great. You're easy to talk to."

"You too, Sam." They stopped walking just outside the front door. It felt oddly like the end of a date – and compared to the few and far between experiences Sam had had the last couple years, it probably would qualify as a date. _How pathetic is my love life…_

She smirked at him. "I'll even let you have the shower first."

Sam's mouth went dry. He'd better make that a cold shower, given the thoughts he just entertained about her after that simple statement.

* * *

Dean groaned, digging his palms into his eyes. His eyes felt like they were bugging out from the research he had been working on the last couple hours. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw newspaper articles on microfilm scrolling against his eyelids.

_Maybe I should have brought Sam with me. He's so much better at this research stuff._

It might not have taxed his already limited patience so much if he had been able to find _something_. But no. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. There hadn't even been one suspicious death in the high school in all its years of existence. And that in itself was a little suspicious…

_OK. Time for a quick break._ Dean pushed the hard-backed chair away from the microfilm reader and almost groaned aloud again when he stood up. His body was definitely not liking research.

"Oh God, maybe I _am _getting too old for this shit," Dean muttered under his breath.

"Oh please. If you're old, I'm old – and I refuse to believe that."

Dean looked up, and his mouth dropped open. _It's her. _

"Well, if you are old, may I just say you've certainly aged very well," Dean joked, flashing a charming smile.

The woman – _Miss Dawson… _– let out a loud chuckle. Dean smirked to himself; he seemed to be doing a lot better than he had in the hallway yesterday. Maybe she just wasn't the type to flirt with guys when working. A good girl. That would be a novelty…

"Thank you." She shifted her eyes away from his, cleared her throat and hefted the books she was carrying into a better position. "I saw you at school yesterday, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm Dean Winchester. I was visiting Bill Janes." Dean eased himself down so that he was half-sitting on the desk. It brought him to eye-level with the only slightly shorter woman. "You're a teacher too?"

"Yes." She extended her hand. "Viola Dawson."

Shaking her hand, Dean raised his eyebrow. "Viola? That's interesting."

"My parents were Shakespeare buffs."

"So do you teach English, then?"

"Nope. History."

Dean made a face. "Oooh. Dates and stuff."

She laughed again, and Dean mentally tallied another point in his "yes" column. "That's not all that history is."

"I know, I know." The wheels in Dean's brain started turning. "Hey, maybe you can help me out with something. I …uh…work for a travel magazine, and we're doing an article on Sacramento. Do you know of any good, local stories?"

"Sure. What kind of stuff are you looking for?"

"Well, this is going to sound weird, but the article is actually for those – how do I say this delicately? – nutjobs who like to visit areas where there are supposedly ghosts. You know the type I mean?"

She smiled and nodded.

"So, I guess, are there any local ghost stories … or murder stories…or urban legends? Anything really."

"We actually have a really good ghost story. But to tell it properly takes more time than I have right now. I'm meeting a friend soon. But, if you're going to be around for a while…?"

"Oh, yeah. As long as this article takes."

"Good. Well, then maybe we can meet for coffee sometime, and I'll tell you the story?"

"That sounds great."

Dean smirked again as he noticed the slight blush on her cheeks as she bent over to write on one of the scrap pieces of paper the library keeps by its microfilm machine. She handed it to him, and he saw it was her phone number.

"Bye, Dean."

"See ya." Dean grinned as she walked away. When she was out of earshot, he let out a quick whistle. Then, deciding her story would probably give him what he needed, he quit researching.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews...even though there were only a couple... :) Keep them coming, it makes my day!

Chapter 4

Sam found himself once again wandering the streets and grounds of campus. Jake, Sarah and their roommates all had to go back to classes today. He had walked in with Jake, still enjoying the renewal of their comraderie, and now was taking his time in heading back to the empty, quiet apartment.

As they did yesterday, the familiar sights made Sam nostalgic – but not homesick. He realized now that, as hard as he had tried, he hadn't really made Palo Alto his home. He had wanted it – and Jess – to be "home" for him so badly. He just wanted normality. And for awhile, he thought he succeeded.

Now he knew better. Now he knew that no matter what, no matter how he wished or tried to make it different, the closest thing he'd ever come to home was the passenger seat of a car. His backyard would always be the highway. And his true family would always be Dean.

"Sam!" Turning quickly at the sound of his name, Sam saw a middle-aged man hurrying toward him. He was wearing, as usual, a tweed suit and carrying at least three large tomes. The load was too much for just one arm, so he didn't have a free hand to push up the glasses that were balancing precariously on the edge of his nose.

"Dr. Sumpter."

"Sam Winchester. My goodness. I thought that was you. How are you?"

"Good, sir. And you?"

"Can't complain, can't complain."

"Do you want some help with those books?"

"Always such a polite young man. That would be wonderful."

Somehow Sam ended up carrying all the books, but that was alright with him. It was wonderful seeing his old advisor and professor, as they had had a fairly close relationship. Sam had spent several hours in the professor's office, debating finer points of law, morals and ethics. At the time, having still been in a silent feud with their father, Sam had seen Sumpter as the kind of man he thought his father should be – supportive, challenging, encouraging.

"And what are you doing in town, Sam? Please tell me you're finally returning!"

"No, sorry, sir. I'm just in town for a visit."

"Ahh, well. Better than nothing, I guess." Unlocking his office door, Sumpter ushered Sam in. "Oh, by the way, one of your old roommate's new roommates is a student of mine."

"That's what I hear."

"Lovely girl. Brilliant, too." Sumpter looked at his desk – messy as usual – and then back at the books still in Sam's arms. "Just put those anywhere you can find room."

Sam looked around and saw a stack of books on a nearby stool. It seemed sturdy enough for a few more, so he stepped over. Before he could put the books down, however, the titles of those already on the chair caught his eye. He set the books he was holding on the floor instead, and grabbed the ones from the chair.

"Occult. Witchcraft. Sorcery. What kind of books are you reading?" Sam wondered if his voice sounded as weird to Sumpter as it did to him. The older man didn't answer right away, so Sam looked up at him. His face had gone white. When he saw Sam looking at him, he smiled tightly.

"Oh. Those are actually for an elective I'm thinking about teaching next semester: legal issues of the Salem Witch trials."

"Interesting."

Sumpter cleared his throat. "Yes, well." He hurried over to Sam and took the books from him. "Here, let me find a place for these."

Sam watched his former mentor walk away from him and set (hide?) the books behind his desk. And he began to wonder.

* * *

Elena was the first to make it back to the apartment that night. Sam had the distinct – and very uncomfortable – impression that she planned it that way. The second she had walked in, she had been at his side – just a little too close for comfort. Touching his bicep, his back, his stomach. Asking him how he was, what he had done, if she could get him anything, if he was hungry. And she said it all in this sing-songy voice that he was pretty sure was her flirtatious tone, but to him it was just grating.

He had never been so happy to see Sarah walk in a door. Ever. And to think he used to be annoyed with her walking in all the time back when he and Jess had first gotten together and couldn't keep their hands off of each other…

"HEY! Sarah." The "hey" had come out rather alarmingly. He and Elena had been sitting on the couch, watching TV, and her hand had just managed to find its way to his upper thigh right at that moment. He quickly stood and made his way over to Sarah, a deer in the headlights expression on his face. Sarah glanced from him, to Elena, and back to him. The smirk grew on her face, and she subtly rolled her eyes at Sam.

"Hi, Sam." She dropped her backpack on the ground. "Listen, can I talk to you alone for awhile before Jake gets back and monopolizes you?"

"That would be _awesome._"

He followed her back to the master bedroom she and Jake shared. While larger than the other rooms (and boasting its own bathroom), it still wasn't that big so the only seating was the bed. He sat on the foot of it and watched her close the door.

"Thank you _so_ much."

"You're welcome. I didn't get the chance to warn you – she can get to be a bit much…"

"I noticed."

Sarah joined him on the bed, wrapping her arms around his stomach and resting her head on his shoulder. "Oh, Sammy. I'm so glad you're here. I've missed you a lot, you know."

"I've missed you too, Sar."

She was quiet for a little while and Sam soon felt hot tears soaking through his shoulder.

"It was so hard there for awhile, Sam. And Jake tried. They all tried. But no one really understood. I knew you would have understood."

Sam reached his hand out to rub her head and hair. A lump formed in his throat. He turned his head slightly to whisper. "I would have…I do."

Sarah's tears started to fall faster, and her breath began to catch. The battle was lost for Sam. He began to cry too. It wasn't the first time he had cried for Jess. But, he thought that now, in the company of her best friend, in the city they had met and lived and loved, that it finally – just maybe – might be the last time.

* * *

Sam jerked awake, confused and groggy. Looking over at Sarah in his arms, he remembered that they had cried themselves to exhaustion until they finally slept. He tried not to wake her as he extricated himself.

Outside he saw that it was that crazy time between day and night. He heard voices coming from the rest of the house – Jake, Elena, Mai. Everyone was home and, from the sounds of it, cooking dinner.

Sam went into the bathroom to put water on his face – rinse away any tear streaks and signs of sleep. Leaning against the counter, he let out a shaky breath. He still felt drained.

He cracked open the door and slipped out, making his way to the kitchen. Maia was the first to see him, and they smiled shyly at each other. Then Elena saw him and pounced.

"Sam! Geez, what were you two doing for so long?"

"Yeah, Winchester," Jake piped in, with a fake, stern expression on his face. "What were you doing in my bedroom with my girlfriend for so long?'

Sam made a face at Jake, who grinned in response. "We were talking and fell asleep."

"That explains the rumpled shirt." Elena purred, rubbing her hand along the said piece of clothing – and his pectoral muscle in the process.

Stepping back slightly, Sam gave her a strained smile.

"I was talking to Dr. Sumpter today, and he said he saw you." Sam immediately turned his attention to Maia, giving her an honest smile that made Elena glare at the shorter girl.

"Yep. It was great to talk to him. He had some nice things to say about you, too." Maia looked down, blushing. The move was so innocent, so cute. It made Sam's heart flip in a way that it hadn't for a long time.

Sam glanced at Jake, only to see his former roommate smirking at him, clearly knowing what Sam was thinking. It was Sam's turn to blush…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Note: The ghost story in this chapter is completely made up by me, although some of the historical parts are from online research about Sacramento.

Thanks for the nice reviews so far. I really appreciate them!

Dean looked around, trying to repress the shudder. _I can't believe I'm actually sitting in a _Starbucks He shook his head and smiled. He didn't usually meet girls over coffee…unless they were Irish coffees. Then again, he usually didn't meet girls in the _daytime_.

But this is where Viola wanted to meet. And Dean… well, Dean would do just about anything Viola asked him to do. He was a tiny bit disgusted with himself over how quickly he agreed. He was turning into a regular Sammy.

Then, she walked in and the disgust went right out the window. She briefly looked around the room, saw him in the corner, smiled and walked over. Dean stood to meet her, his best charming grin plastered on his face.

"Viola…Nice to see you."

"You too, Dean." They shook hands. _Wow, she has soft skin…Snap out of it, man!_

"Have a seat. What can I get you?"

After getting her a tall peppermint hot chocolate, Dean rejoined her at the table.

"So why Starbucks, if you don't get coffee."

"Have you ever _had_ their peppermint hot chocolate? It is … awesome."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time."

"You do that." She took a sip, and Dean had to smile as she closed her eyes in rapture at the taste. "So… how's the research going?"

"Okay – I'm really interested in whatever you can tell me, though."

"Welll…" Viola smiled, and Dean could _see_ her go into teacher-mode. "What do you know about the history of Sacramento?"

"Umm…pretty much nothing."

"One of the first immigrants was a Swiss named John Sutter. For awhile, he was very prosperous. Many people traveled to Sutter's Fort – and, in fact, the Donner Party was trying to go there, too. He was also involved with the California Gold Rush, as gold was found at his mill."

"Gold…huh? I bet that figures into your local ghost story somehow…"

Viola laughed. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? But, actually, no. It _does _deal with the people who built his fort, though. He employed Native Americans, including some from the Miwok nation."

"So your local ghost story deals with Native American lore or something like that?"

"Do you want to hear this story or not?"

"Sorry, sorry. Please continue."

"Alright. After people started coming for gold, the area started attracting certain…undesirable people, as well. One of them fell in lust with a Miwok woman he saw at the fort one day, raped her and held her captive to continue to have his wicked way with her. Her brother and husband found out where she was being kept and went to try and save her. All four of them died in the scuffle – which, by the way, happened on the spot where the high school now stands.

"So which one is the ghost?"

"Actually, none of them."

"Huh?"

"According to the story, a fifth person died in the fight. A 12-year-old girl, Mary Lister was hit by one of the bullets shot by the rapist. Supposedly, _she_ is the one haunting Sacramento."

"Interesting." Dean took a sip of his own coffee, trying to appear nonchalant. "Well, as I said, this article is designed primarily for people who fancy themselves ghost hunters. One of the most common theories on getting rid of a ghost is to salt and burn their bones. As far as you know, has anyone tried that kind of thing – or anything really, to stop her?

"Well, I guess your ghost hunters are going to have a hard time of it then."

"Why? What do you mean?" Dean wondered if he sounded as alarmed as he felt.

"Because one of the very first incidents that started people thinking she was a ghost haunting the area was the fact that the church – with her body laid out in it for the funeral – burned down the night before."

Dean took a sip of his coffee. "Huh…"

* * *

Sam stood outside Branner Hall, counting the rows and floors to determine the window of the small dorm room where he and Jake had lived.

Flashback

Sam sat on the small bed. Small…heck, it wasn't even a twin-size. That would _not_ be fun with his tall frame.

He let out a deep sigh, stood and began to unpack his suitcase. It didn't take long. Sam let out a wry chuckle as he realized that all the clothes he had in the world didn't even fill up one college dorm-sized closet. Hopefully, he'd be able to get some more when the financial aid went through and he got his first work-study paycheck…

Looking over at the other, empty side of the room, Sam wondered about his roommate, Jake. They had talked briefly on the phone once – Sam had to sneak away and find a pay phone during one of the last trips before the Fight. He knew that Jake was from Arizona, was "undecided," and had a sister who was in her second year at Stanford.

Jake would supposedly roll into town later that day, with his parents and sister. Sam felt a twinge in his heart, wishing Dad and Dean would have been there with him, encouraging him, proud of him… He also wondered why he still had thoughts like that after so many years of disappointment to prove otherwise.

Checking his watch, Sam decided to take a walk to familiarize himself with campus before Jake got there. He stowed the suitcase under his bed and took one last look at the picture of his mom and dad on the dresser. They were happy, smiling … both people he never really knew. Clearing his throat, he went out the door.

After checking out the Red Barn, Main Quad and the Union – all places that he remembered from the tour at Orientation – Sam made his way back to Branner Hall. Heading toward the room, he started pulling out his keys but then noticed the door was open and he could hear voices coming from it. Jake was early.

Sam steeled himself, getting ready to be "normal." Even after all these years of lying to the people they met along the way, Sam still didn't feel comfortable doing it. Maybe that's because this time he knew he would have to keep up the lie for years instead of days.

He stuck his head around the corner, his fighter's instinct noting immediately Jake and his father near the window, his mother standing by the closet, his sister sitting on the newly made bed.

"Hi."

Jake smiled and walked over, his hand outstretched. "Hi, Sam? Jake."

Sam shook his hand, then Jake's father's and mother's hands.

"Nice to meet you all. Hey, listen, if you want the other side, it'll take me like two second to move."

"No, no problem. This side's good."

"OK. Do you need any help?"

"No, we're good. Got the last load up from the car, and now we're just unpacking."

Sam nodded, taking in the fact that Jake's side was about five times as full of stuff as his side.

Sam made uncomfortable small talk with Jake's family, but managed to deflect their dinner invitation by saying he was sure the family would like to spend some time together before the parents headed back to Arizona.

He was hungry, though, so pretty much the second they were out the door, he headed out to the dining hall. It may have been cafeteria food, but it still looked better than Dean's cooking. Loading up his plate, he brought the tray over to a far booth, trying not to look as uncomfortable – and alone – as he was.

Digging into his food, he was shocked to hear his name called. Looking up and scanning the room, he saw two blonde girls and a brunette coming toward him. The one that called his name… he wracked his brain...

"Becky! Hi!" He smiled in welcome – and relief. He met Rebecca Warren during Orientation, and she seemed like a nice girl.

"Hi, Sam. This is Sarah and Jess. They live on my floor, one room down from me. Do you mind if we join you?"

"No, go ahead. It's nice to meet you." Becky slid in next to him, with Jess across from him and Sarah next to her. "So what about your roommate, Beck? Is she here yet?"

"Uh, yeah, let's not talk about that."

Sam frowned in confusion, looking from her to the other girls, who were now snickering. Jess took pity on him and explained. "Becky's roommate, "Destiny" is Goth. I don't think they're going to get along too well…"

"Aaah. Sorry, Becky."

"Yeah, yeah. Sooo…what about your roommate, Sam? Is he hot?"

"Becky! You have a boyfriend," Sarah exclaimed.

"Yeah…but you two don't."

Becky smirked as she saw Sam's eyes flick toward Jess and just as quickly darted away.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry this one is kinda short... But hopefully you'll find it "interesting" :)

Chapter 6 

Sam let out a deep, relaxed sigh, as he leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the porch railing. Taking a swig of beer, he looked over at Jake. "I could get used to this."

"Well, you know, if you moved back and went to law school here, we could do this all the time."

"Et tu, Brute?"

Jake snorted. "C'mon, man. Why act like it's a bad thing that we all want you back with us?"

"It's not a bad thing. I appreciate it. I do. I…just…" Sam took another drink, unsure of what to say.

"I know it'll always be hard for you here, after Jess. But I think you're ready to move on…if the way you're looking at Maia is any indication…" Jake waggled his eyebrows at Sam, who blushed in response.

"Look, Jake, Dean needs me right now…"

"Oh _come on_, Sam. This is me you're talking to. One, you're not meant for the life of traveling security consultant, and, two, who cares what Dean needs? You two don't even get along. I lived with you for _years._ You never talked on the phone; he never visited; you never went home for a visit. To tell you the truth, I don't even understand why you went on the road with him in the first place, much less stayed with him for so long."

"There's a lot about our relationship that you don't know, Jake."

"So tell me."

"I…can't."

Jake leaned forward in his chair to make eye contact with Sam. "Look, Sam, I don't have a real brother, so you're the closest I'll ever get to it. And all I want for you is to be happy. What does Dean want for you? Because I don't think it's for you to be happy. If it was, you'd have been back here with us a long time ago."

* * *

Sam didn't know what he was doing back at Dr. Sumpter's office. He tried to tell himself it was just to talk with his old mentor, but he knew, deep down, it was because he couldn't get the older man's reaction to the books out of his mind. He didn't _want_ to mix his hunting life with his Palo Alto life – but he had become too paranoid not to.

Knocking on the door, Sam stuck his head in after the distracted "come in" responded.

"Hi."

"Sam! Good to see you! I was wondering if I'd get the chance to talk to you again before you left."

"Oh, I won't be leaving for probably a couple days still. But thanks, I appreciate it. Am I catching you at a bad time?"

"No, no. Come on in." Dr. Sumpter stood and rushed to clear off a chair for Sam, who shook his head at how such a brilliant man could be so scatterbrained. He started chiding himself for thinking Dr. Sumpter could have anything to do with the supernatural world. _He wouldn't last two seconds…_

And then he saw the talisman.

Sitting on Sumpter's desk, the engraved stone was definitely new or Sam would have had his suspicions long ago. If one didn't know what he was looking at, then he would think it was just a quirky paperweight. So, that's how Sam decided to play it.

"That's a pretty neat paperweight, Dr. Sumpter. It kinda reminds me of something my friend Bobby has."

Again, the older man was struck speechless, staring at Sam with a weird look on his face. Sam held his gaze for awhile, gave a small smile and changed the subject as if nothing was wrong.

He had no way of knowing what occurred after he left – Dr. Sumpter picked up the phone and dialed a number he hadn't called in a long time.

"Bobby – Jack Sumpter, here….Yeah, you too. Say – what's John Winchester's boys' names?...Really? Huh, who would have thought?"

* * *

Sam was a little nervous walking into the apartment that afternoon – if it was just him and Elena again, he may run screaming for the hills. Opening the door to a quiet apartment, his heart soared. But, to his surprise, he wasn't actually alone. Maia came into the living room from the hallway with a smile on her face.

"Hi Sam. I thought I heard someone coming in."

"Hey, Maia. How are you?"

"Ugh, okay. I'm studying right now, and my brain's _fried_."

"Well come and hang with me for awhile, then. Take a break." Sam felt a pang in his heart, remembering the last time he told a girl to take a break from studying. Quickly suppressing the pain, he gave Maia his best charming smile. It couldn't hold a candle to Dean's, of course, but it worked on Maia. She grinned back and bounced the rest of the way into the living room.

"What d'ya wanna do?"

"Hmm…got a deck of cards?"

Two minutes later, they were sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing a weird two-person version of Spoons that they were still establishing the rules for. Cards started flying, and laughter filled the air. Sam didn't think his hands had moved so fast in years, not even when fighting. This wasn't the kind of card game Dean liked to play, as it was hard to cheat people out of money at.

Plus, this had the added bonus that they're hands were brushing each other _a lot_ more than was probably actually required to play the game.

Sam noticed he had the required cards to grab for the spoon, so he made a move for it. Maia saw him though, so she grabbed it at the same time. They started playing tug-o-war for it, laughing even harder than before. Sam pulled with all his might, ending up laying on his back on the carpet with Maia sprawled out on top of him. They immediately stopped wrestling, and a different kind of grin slowly spread across their faces. Sam started moving his head forward first, but they ended up meeting somewhere in the middle for a kiss.

The kiss started out tentatively, but quickly grew in intensity. Before he knew it, Sam was picking Maia up off the floor and carrying her into her room.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sam thought it was weird how you could know a girl so well, be such good friends with her, and still feel completely nervous getting ready for a first date. And, it's not like he had that much to worry about – he already got a first kiss the day before. Maybe it was because he never _really_ dated before. Being on the road didn't lend itself to wooing, even though Dean would disagree. Then again, he and Dean had _very_ different definitions of "dating."

Jake sat at his desk, smirking at Sam's reflection as he tried on yet another shirt. Just because he and Sarah had been dating for a month already, Jake seemed to think he was the Voice of Wisdom for Sam. He also thought it was extremely funny when Sam kept glaring at him in the mirror.

"Soooo, where are you taking her?"

"Miyake."

"Japanese? You hate Japanese."

Sam turned to face his roommate, a blush spreading across his cheeks. "Yep. But Jess likes it."

Jake suppressed a smile. "Awwwwww."

"Shut up."

"Oh, I just think it's cute. Sarah and I have been waiting for this _forever_. Just so you know, she wants to double date."

"Oh, God. Please let us get through the first one, okay? Maybe it won't even work out."

"Yeah…right..."

Sam realized he ran out of time – the blue button-up shirt he currently was wearing would have to do. Grabbing the flowers off his bed, he waved at Jake and made his way toward Jess and Sarah's dorm. He had to chuckle at Sarah's squeal when he knocked on the door, followed by the girls arguing about who would open the door. They obviously thought they were trying to be quiet, but weren't succeeding.

Sarah must have won as her face was the one smiling at him when the door swung open.

"Why, _hello_ Sam. Fancy seeing you here! Are those flowers for me?"

Sam gave her a look, and she descended into giggles. She quickly faded into the background, though, when he saw Jess. She was smiling at him shyly from behind her roommate, wearing a sundress with her hair up the way he had always secretly liked it. His mouth went dry, and he thrust the flowers forward like a 13-year-old boy picking up his first girlfriend for the Junior High Formal Dance. Although, he guessed that was what he kind of was.

"Thanks, Sam."

"You're welcome."

"I'll take care of these. You guys go have fun." The two lovebirds started walking down the hallway, and Sam's heart soared when Jess' hand found his.

* * *

Sam rubbed his hand lightly over Maia's shoulder, as she snuggled closer to him in her sleep. He thought about how slowly…how innocently… his relationship with Jess started compared to this one with Maia. Granted, it was a little early to call this a relationship, but he didn't think he'd have to kill her like Madison.

And, it was strange, because his first impressions of Maia – that she was a good, quiet, shy kind of girl – didn't mesh with this side of her. Not that he was complaining… It probably made more sense to attribute it to _him_ being a different person than the guy that took so long to woo Jess.

Although, it wouldn't be a good thing for this burgeoning relationship if Maia knew he was thinking about his dead girlfriend after just having sex with her. So he put his focus directly back on her, just as she started to stir in his arms.

When she opened her eyes, she smiled and blushed at the same time. Sam thought it was pretty cute…

"Hi."

"Hey."

Sam's breath hitched in his throat when she started running a finger along his chest. She didn't look at him in her embarrassment, but he could hear it in her voice when she said, "So I know it's a cliché to say this…but I _don't_ normally do this."

"Don't worry. I kinda figured that about you. I'm glad you made an exception for me, though."

Now, she looked up at him and met his eyes. "Me too."

Sam put a hand on either side of her face and pulled her up for a deep kiss. When it too intensified, and Sam thought they were on their way to round two, Maia stopped him.

"We should probably make ourselves presentable before everybody else gets home."

Sam groaned. "You're probably right. We'll never hear the end of it if they catch us like this."

By the time Jake and Sarah walked in the door – Sam found out that Elena, thankfully, had an evening class that day – he and Maia looked completely normal, and even sat on different couches in the living room. Sam smirked at Sarah's disappointed expression. _Always the matchmaker…_

* * *

Lisa groaned under her breath, and her classmate sitting next to her chuckled in response. The reaction was because Lisa saw Elena making her way toward the two girls to sit next to them.

"Of all the seats in the lecture hall…" Elena was taking the course for undergraduate requirements, while the other two were getting graduate credit for it.

"Hi girls," Elena called out, while the two older ones smiled fake welcoming smiles.

"Hi Elena. How are you?" Lisa asked.

"Great. Although I'd rather be home with Sam than here…" Lisa cringed as Elena's tone made it sound like Sam was her boyfriend rather than her roommates' friend.

"Sam?!" The other blonde asked, before turning to Lisa. "Sam Winchester?"

Lisa suppressed a smile as Elena glared at the girl as if she too was competition.

"Yeah. He's in town."

"Is Dean with him?"

"No. You…know Dean, Becky?"

"Yeah, I met him when he and Sam came to …visit me in St.Louis." Elena's glare deepened. "So they aren't here for…work?"

"Nope. You should go to Jake and Sarah's after class – say hi. I'll come with you."

"Yeah. Let's do that." Rebecca Warren leaned back in her chair as the professor came in, but she was clearly not paying attention the entire lecture. Lisa couldn't help but wonder what was going on, as her reaction about Sam seemed a little…off.

* * *

Elena opened the door for the other two girls, trying yet failing to appear like a gracious hostess. She called out to the other occupants that they had guests, and Jake was the first to pop his head out of the kitchen to see who it was, but the others quickly followed.

Lisa was even more surprised when she saw the color drain from Sam's face at the sight of Becky. And _everyone_ was surprised when Sam rushed toward her and dragged her out onto the deck with him and slamming the door shut without saying a word.

"Becky."

"Sam, what are you doing here? Is something happening?"

"No, it's just a visit. Remember, _no one_ else knows."

"I know, I know. Although, Mr. Smooth, they're going to know something is up now."

Sam paused. "Yeah, you're probably right. Let's go back inside."

The two were welcomed by confused faces from Jake, Sarah and Lisa, yet another glare from Elena, and a worried, somewhat jealously hurt look from Maia. Sam smiled at her in an attempt to soothe any thoughts she was having about Sam's and Becky's relationship history.

"So, Buddy, what was that all about?" Jake was the first to ask.

"Uh…it would take too long to explain. I had to talk to Becky about what happened when we saw each other in St. Louis."

"Uh huh. And what was that?"

"None of your business, Jake." Becky piped in.

The friends decided to celebrate the fact it was Friday by turning on music, getting alcohol out and playing Taboo. _Just like old times_… Sam smiled to himself, as he thought about what Dean would think if he knew how Sam spent most of his college weekend nights. Dean, he was sure, wouldn't have been sitting at home playing games if he was a co-ed.

Sam stood up to go to the bathroom. When he left, everyone turned on Becky. "Alright, spill. What happened in St. Louis?" Jake asked.

"_None_ of your business!"

Sarah took over. "So you met Dean?"

"Yeah. He's an okay guy. A little rough around the edges compared to Sam."

"Did Sam seem happy?"

"Well…as happy as he could be, given the circumstances…"

"What -?"

"None of your business."

Sarah sighed. "OK, but do you think he was happy enough where we should stop going after him about staying here."

"You guys are trying to get him to stay?" Becky asked. "You don't want to do that. He and Dean are…doing _important_ work."

Jake scoffed. "They're _security consultants_. They help rich people keep their money."

They all turned at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Becky had a split second to decide if she wanted to stay true to Sam or if she wanted to help his friends know who and what he really was. She had been wrestling with telling the others ever since she got back to Palo Alto from St. Louis. She knew Sam's concerns, but she also knew that he would be happier if he didn't have to keep lying, if he could have the true support of his friends.

"Nooo….they're _not._"

Sam came back into the room. From the tension, he seemed to guess that they had been talking about him, but he figured it was just the regular stuff about him staying here or about if he was "really okay" after Jess, or something similar. He took his seat and asked whose turn it was, missing the questioning looks everyone was sending him as he reached for another beer.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The doorbell rang obscenely early the next morning. If it hadn't rang so early, Sam would have been able to make it back out to the couch before anyone else had known he had been gone. As it was, he left Maia's room just in time to run into Sarah and Jake exiting their room. They both did a double take, while Sam avoided their eyes, ran a hand through his hair and led the way to the living room – not reacting to Sarah's squeal and Jake's chuckling.

Sam stopped at his duffel bag to pull on a shirt, while Jake opened the door…to find Dr. Sumpter on the other side.

"Hello. I'm sorry to wake you up so early on a Saturday…May I speak with Sam Winchester please?"

"Dr. Sumpter?"

At that time, a blushing Mai – who must have realized her roommates knew what was up – also came out to the living room. Now, the embarrassment changed to confusion as she looked back and forth between her professor and lover.

"Hi Sam. Oh, hello Maia. Sam – a word, please?"

"Of course." Sam pulled on his shoes and followed the older man onto the deck.

When the door had closed behind them, the professor turned to Sam. "I would have said something a long time ago, if I knew who you were. I guess I never thought you were John Winchester's son." Dr. Sumpter didn't stop to acknowledge Sam's double take. "I didn't think one of John's boys would be going to college, so I just figured you had the same last name. But, after our conversation the other day, I double-checked with Bobby Singer and found out who you really were."

"You know…who I am? You know Bobby? Knew my father?"

"Yes. In my younger days, I was a hunter too. Now, I just research." Sam sat down, shocked. Dr. Sumpter sat down next to him.

"I always thought I had found someplace…normal. I never even knew…"

"Then I'm glad for you, Sam. Everyone should get to experience that. You never had that before you came here. And Dean, poor Dean, he can barely remember the only time he ever had normality. I'm sorry I had to ruin it for you."

Sam steeled himself, knowing something was coming. "You must have a good reason to tell me."

"Well, I've noticed some strange happenings going on around here. I'm pretty sure there's a coven of witches around – and they're growing in both power and maliciousness. I may need some assistance in preventing them from doing anything truly horrible."

"Sure thing. Do you know anything else about them – any suspects, a location?"

"I'm narrowing it down. I can call you when I know for sure."

"Sounds good. Uh…I only have a .45 with me. The rest of the weapons and our texts are with Dean."

"No problem. I may not hunt that much anymore, but I still have the equipment…just in case."

"Alright. Just let me know." Sam and Dr. Sumpter shook hands and parted ways, now treating each other as fellow hunters. The easy days of professor and student were now gone forever.

Sam sighed and went back inside, to his once again confused friends. He explained that Sumpter wanted his help with a home renovation project sometime before he left, knowing that once again his story wasn't quite easing his friends' minds.

* * *

Frustrated, Dean threw the third book in as many hours to the foot of the motel bed.

"No luck with that one either?"

Dean shook his head, still a little startled by someone other than Sam questioning him about his progress. After searching in vain for another way besides salting and burning to get rid of a ghost, he had called in Bill for help. They had been working their way through the Winchester's books, plus a few from some of Sacramento's magic shops. Dean chuckled to himself as he remembered the store clerk/ "witch" at one of the shops he stopped at – if she ever saw real magic performed, she'd probably faint.

Bobby hadn't had any ideas either, and Dean was holding off on calling Sam as long as possible. Sure, the main reason was that he wanted Sam to enjoy hanging out with his friends… but he also didn't want to admit that he needed help after making such a big deal of having gone on hunting trips alone before.

"Are you absolutely sure that it's this girl?" Bill asked. "If it doesn't seem likely that she could be haunting the area with her body gone, why couldn't it be someone else? I'm sure there's been at least one other person who's died an untimely, violent death in the area."

"It's possible. But local legends of ghost stories usually exist for a _reason_. People see more than they think they do; they just don't let themselves believe that they see it."

"You don't have to tell me that, you know. I used to be one of those 'unbelievers.'"

Flashback

"Come on, Sammy. You're not being careful." Dean grumbled under his breath as he trailed his brother and his brother's friends down the streets of campus. He had been following them for a couple blocks and Sam hadn't even done so much as look over his shoulder. "I taught you better than that…"

Dean and John had rolled into town just a few hours ago. They came to Palo Alto often but irregularly, checking up on Sammy whenever they had a chance. John usually followed him during the days, and hunted at nights. John never let Dean come with him when he followed Sam; Dean figured it was because John was still ashamed of how he had acted toward Sam before his brother left, and John didn't want Dean to see how much it still affected him.

That left the nights to Dean and Sam – almost like when they were kids, wiling away the evenings when John hunted without them. Dean didn't deny he was angry at Sam, or that he was a tiny bit resentful of his younger brother. But that didn't outweigh the fact that he would _always_ be his younger brother, and that Dean would always feel the overwhelming need to protect him from the things that go bump in the night.

Even though he was upset that Sam wasn't employing his skills and being more aware of his surroundings, Dean couldn't help but be happy for Sam. He seemed so carefree and relaxed with his friends. He was also happy because it looked like the cute blonde friend had become something _more_ than that since the last time he and John had been in town. She and Sam couldn't keep their hands off each other. _Not that I can blame Sammy for that…she is fine…_

Dean trailed them all the way back to the dorms, waiting until Sam got inside safely before making his way back to the bar and another fine blonde that had promised to wait until he got back.

Dean didn't get back to the motel room he and John were staying at until late, but he was surprised to see his Dad was still up. Dean noticed that most of their possessions were already packed up.

"I thought we were staying until the end of the week."

"My friend Jack lives in the area, and he said that it looks like Sacramento is having some werewolf trouble. I told him we'd take care of it – and tomorrow night's the full moon. After that, we may as well get going instead of coming back this way."

Dean knew better to argue with John, but part of him wanted to. It had been much longer than it should have been to get back to Palo Alto this last time, and he didn't know when they'd make it back again. It hurt to go so long between visits. Then again, it hurt having Sam so close and yet still too far away.

"OK."

They left early the next morning and made it to Sacramento in good time. John took a police badge from the glove compartment and went to find out information, while Dean stopped in at a café to see what kind of info he could charm out of the waitress. By the afternoon, the two elder Winchesters had narrowed the werewolf's hunting area to the vicinity of the nearby high school..

That night, rested and ready for a battle, Dean was aching for the monster to show up so he could kill it already. His gun in his hand, Dean scanned the quiet road in front of him, looking for the slightest hint of a werewolf ready to attack. However, the only thing he did see turned out to be a man exiting the high school, which he had assumed to be empty, and walk toward one of the parked cars down the road. Dean faded back into the shadows, trying not to be seen by the teacher. He was, in fact, so concerned about that that he didn't notice the gray blob appear out of the shadows on the other side of the road. He finally noticed it and started running across the street, yelling for the man to watch out.

The man – probably a couple years older than Dean – turned, startled. Crying out, he jumped away from the werewolf that was almost upon him. With him out of the range of fire, Dean discharged a couple silver bullets and the man-animal fell with a yelp of pain. John ran up beside him, his own gun still pointed at the beast just in case.

"What the _hell_ is that?" the still-frightened man shouted. Father and son shared a glance, then looked back at the man who was about to hear a life-changing answer.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry!!! I hate when authors don't update for a long time, and here I am doing the same thing. I promise, as an apology, there will be another new chapter up tomorrow!

Chapter 9

"So…Maia. Anything you want to talk about?" Sarah giggled as the younger girl turned bright red and tried to hide her face behind the café's menu.

Confused, Lisa looked between the two girls. "What's going on?"

"Why don't you ask Maia here who came out of her bedroom this morning…"

Lisa gasped. "Oh my God…Sam?!"

"Yes. OK. Yes. Sam and I are…I don't know what we are."

"Well, what do you _want_ to be?"

"I think that kind of depends on how long Sam's going to be in town, doesn't it? He hasn't given me any indication that he's decided to extend his stay." Maia sighed and looked out the window, trying unsuccessfully to hide her true feelings. "I guess, I'm just going to enjoy his company while I can."

"Oh, I bet you're _enjoying_ his company."

"Lisa, enough with the bad innuendos, okay?" Sarah interrupted. "I want to hear how this came about."

"Sarah…are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, Jess was your best friend."

"Yeah. And she would want Sam to be happy. I think she would've approved of you. Now, spill the juicy details, girl."

Maia smiled, then proceeded to gush about the Spoons game and the kiss that started it all. By the time she had finished, the food arrived and the girls were quiet for a little while as they hungrily dug in.

Soon, though, Maia cleared her throat and voiced a concern they all shared. "So, seeing as how I'm kinda beginning to develop feelings for Sam, what do you think Becky meant the other night?

Sarah and Lisa glanced at each other.

"I don't know, Maia." Sarah answered. "Maybe you should ask him…?"

"I'll give it a shot. But why would he tell me something that you guys don't know. He's known you for years … I'm just the girl he's currently sleeping with…"

"Oh come on, don't talk like that. Sam's not that kind of guy. He's not using you," Lisa said.

"Yeah, and we're not saying he's _going_ to tell you. We're just asking you to try," Sarah added.

"OK. I'll try."

* * *

They went to bed together that night, to Jake's heckling and Elena's glares. There was no use trying to hide it anymore. Sam didn't know who was more embarrassed – him or Maia – but he quickly stopped worrying about it when Maia pushed him up against the closed door and kissed him.

A while later, Sam and Maia laid on their sides, facing each other, whispering and every so often kissing. Sam was asking most of the questions, finding out about Maia's childhood and adolescence, her sister and brothers, her hope of going to Europe before law school. The more he got to know her, the more he liked her. And the more he liked her, the more he started dreading the day Dean's phone call would come, telling him it was time to hit the road again.

Sam knew his place was with Dean, that he _never_ would have a normal life. But, for the first time since Jess, he really wanted one. His heart ached at the thought of saying goodbye to Maia. But, he reminded himself of how much more it would hurt if he ended up getting her killed like Jess - or Madison. No one was safe around Sam, and he would be damned if he let someone get hurt just because he was too selfish to let them go.

Snapping out of his inner thoughts, Sam realized Maia had just asked him a question. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her again.

"Sorry. I must be getting kinda tired. What did you say?"

Maia chuckled. "I'm not surprised you're tired after the workout you just had."

Sam smiled and pulled her flush against him for another kiss. "I don't know if I got to my target cardio rate. We might have to try again…"

Maia laughed, but pushed his chest so he stopped kissing her. "Not yet, Sam. I wanted to hear about you and your family first. You got to hear about mine."

Sam's smile faded, but Maia pretended not to notice. "So, tell me about Dean. What have you guys been doing on your road trip?"

"Dean…uh. Dean's kinda rough around the edges, you know. But he's got a good heart."

"Kinda like his brother?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"So…what have you guys been doing?" Maia tried to hide the desperation from her voice. She wanted him to tell her the truth – whatever it was – so badly. Because if he didn't, then she knew that he _was_ just using her.

"Dean and my Dad had a security consultation company. Now, I'm helping him out with that."

Maia looked at Sam's chest, unable to meet his eyes for fear of what he'd see in them.

"Oh…sounds fun."

"Yeah, it can be at times. Other times, it … can be a real pain."

"Huh…" Maia turned her back to Sam and spooned up against him. "Well, good night, Sam."

"What?" Sam bent down and kissed Maia's shoulder. "No more exercise?"

Maia let out a wry chuckle that sounded suspiciously more like a sob to Sam. "No…not tonight."

* * *

Dean strolled down the high school's hallway, ostensibly on his way to Bill's classroom while actually keeping an eye out for a certain history teacher. Hearing a student calling out a goodbye to her, Dean grinned and headed in that direction.

"Viola." Dean cringed and looked around. "Sorry, 'Miss Dawson.'"

"Hi, Dean. It's okay. High school students are old enough to know that their teachers have first names, you know…"

"Well, then they should also be okay with their teachers going on dates."

Viola cocked an eyebrow at him. "I'm sure, theoretically, they would be."

"Want to test that theory?"

"I'd love to."

"Great. How about tonight?"

"Wow, you don't waste any time, do you?"

"Well, I don't know how much longer I'll be in town."

"I guess tonight's going to have to do then. I'm almost done here, if you want to wait. Or we can meet later tonight."

"Oh, no. I'm not giving you the chance to get away. I'll wait."

"Good."

A half an hour later, Dean was escorting Viola out of the school with a hand at the small of her back, completely forgetting about Bill. Leading her to the Impala, he opened the passenger door for her.

"Thanks… Nice car."

"I know. It's my baby."

"Oh, you're one of _those_ guys."

"Absolutely." Dean started the car and gunned the engine. "Admit it, it kind of turns you on."

Viola laughed. Dean grinned and backed out of the parking spot.

After eating a filling dinner at Viola's favorite restaurant, the two went for a walk. Dean kept thinking how odd it was that he was actually on a date. Most of the time, if he wanted "female companionship," he went to the nearest bar. But – this girl – he was actually working for her. And, the more time they spent together, the less it seemed to matter whether she jumped his bones that night or not.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ Dean shook his head at himself, causing Viola to furrow her eyebrows at him in question. "Oh, nothing."

"Okay…"

"Just thinking about how lucky I am to be out with a pretty lady like you."

"You might want to start working on some new lines, Casanova."

"What? That's a good one!"

"Not really, no."

"Good enough for a kiss?"

"Hmmm….Let me think…" Viola stopped walking, grabbed the collar of Dean's coat and pulled his head toward hers.


	10. Chapter 10

As promised, here's the next chapter. Although I am a little sad that I didn't get ANY reviews for the last one. Does anyone out there want me to continue???

Chapter 10

"You got your costume yet, man?" Jake asked as Sam walked into their dorm room.

"Well, hello to you too."

"Hey. Sorry. Sarah's been asking me what you're going as for Halloween. I don't see why she cares, but she does."

"I don't know. I'm not really a … fan of Halloween, Jake. I wasn't even planning on doing anything."

Jake put down his video game controller and stared incredulously at his roommate.

"Are you _kidding_ me? Don't you realize what Halloween is?"

_Yes, it's when demons feel like they can roam the streets because no one will be able to tell they're the real thing. It's one of the many holidays I never got to celebrate as a child. It's the day I saw one of the very few people I've actually been able to call friend be ripped limb from limb… _"It's an excuse for older kids to play stupid pranks and for younger kids to rot their teeth."

"Nooo…it's an excuse for girls to dress in skanky costumes and college kids to get drunk!"

"Oh, well when you put it like that…" Sam gave Jake a pointed look, before sitting at his desk and pulling out his homework.

"Fine. Don't come out with us…" Jake said nonchalantly, resuming his game. "Don't see Jess in her gypsy slave girl costume…"

Sam swallowed hard, then cleared his throat. "I'm in."

"Thought so, buddy. I thought so."

On the night in question, Sam still wasn't that excited about the festivities. Nineteen years of bad experiences weren't wiped out just because one had a hot girlfriend, after all. He never did find a costume, for which Sarah and Jess were quite upset with him, but he figured they'd get over it.

And, as he told Jess, people wouldn't even realize he wasn't wearing a costume because they'd be too busy staring at her. He certainly was enthralled…

Leading her onto the dance floor, Sam was glad they were playing a slow song so he'd have an excuse to wrap his arms around her and show all the guys who were ogling that she was taken.

"Can you believe it's been over a year?" Sam whispered into Jess' ear.

"I know. I figured I'd be bored with you _by now_." Jess teased back.

"Ha ha," Sam said sardonically.

"Oh, you know I love you."

Sam beamed. It had already been a couple months ago that they said those all-important words to each other for the first time, but it still made him ecstatic to hear her say that. He pulled her even closer and started singing the romantic words of the song into her ear.

Later that night, the two couples parted ways. It had been standing tradition for the last couple months that, on weekend nights, Jake and Sarah would stay in the boy's room, while Sam and Jess would go to the girls'. However, what Jake didn't know (but Sarah, of course, did) was that Sam and Jess hadn't taken "full advantage" of that situation yet. Something that Dean would never let him live down… It was not that Sam didn't want to, but he respected Jess' decision that she wasn't ready yet. And, well, given his VERY limited experience with girls, he didn't exactly know what he was missing and was therefore happy to get whatever Jess would give him.

The last couple weeks though, ever since they met the one year mark, things had been getting pretty hot and heavy. And Sam was beginning to lose his willpower – Jess was always the one that had to remind him when to stop. He was ashamed he was being … such a guy … about it, but he couldn't help himself.

Jess led the way to the room, saying hi to floormates they passed along the way. Sam knew them well enough to smile hello at, but tonight he was a little too busy enjoying Jess' costume to be too friendly.

Unlocking the door, Sarah walked into the room without bothering to turn on the overhead light. Sam followed her in like a puppy and was rewarded with a kiss the second the door was closed.

"Oh, Jess…"

"Sam…I think I'm ready."

Sam froze. "Are…are you sure?"

Jess smiled seductively up at him, then peeled off her top. "Yes."

_Maybe Halloween isn't so bad after all..._

* * *

Sam was the first to wake up the next morning, and he took the opportunity to try and memorize what Maia looked like when she was sleeping.

He had thought he would always remember what Jess looked like sleeping. Now…now he was having a hard time remembering what she looked like at all. Sure, he could remember what she _looked_ like, but he was kind of fuzzy on the details. He couldn't quite remember where her beauty marks were, or what her voice sounded like when she was flirting, or what her skin tasted like…

Sam knew that it was a good thing that he was beginning to forget – that it meant that time really was healing his grief. But, he couldn't help feeling guilty as hell for it.

Just like he was feeling guilty for lying to Maia last night.

The lie of Dean and John being security consultants used to be so easy to tell. Everyone at school knew that that's what they did – that that's why they were always on the road. Why did it feel different to say the same lie now?

Sam's cell phone chirped from the floor, where his jeans were discarded last night. Maia jerked awake in his arms.

"Sorry, babe," Sam said as he crawled over her and leaned over the side of the bed to dig in his pockets. Finding it and seeing a Palo Alto number he didn't recognize, Sam pressed the talk button.

"Hello?"

"Sam? It's Jack Sumpter. Can we meet?"

"Yeah. When? Where?"

"My office today – about 11:30?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you then."

Sam hung up and looked down at Maia, who he happened to be hovering over. Leaning down for a kiss, he was surprised and a little hurt when she turned her head so he ended up kissing her cheek. Hiding his disappointment, he murmured good morning and rolled off of her.

"Who was that?"

"Dr. Sumpter, actually. Asking if I was available to help him with that renovation project soon."

"Oh. You'll have to remind him that some of us here are still college students and don't wake up at 7 a.m. if we can help it…"

Sam chuckled and propped himself up on an elbow to look down at her. "Well, now that we're up, we may as well take advantage of the time we have…"

Sam watched as Maia's face drained of color and she practically burst out of the bed. "Uh, I gotta go to the bathroom."

She was almost at the door when Sam, who was now sitting up with his arms on his knees. "Maia…did I do something wrong?"

"NO! No…"

"Then why are you acting this way."

Maia took a deep breath and turned toward the door so she wouldn't have to look at Sam while she said what she had to say.

"Sam, I'm not the casual sex kind of girl, even if my recent behavior makes you think otherwise. If all you're looking for is something physical, then you'll have to find some other bedroom to spend the rest of your trip in. I don't want to be used anymore."

"Maia!" Sam called out, but it was too late as she had already stormed out of the room. He rubbed his face with his hands. "Oh, God…"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Sam waited in Maia's bedroom for almost 20 minutes before deciding she wasn't going to come back as long as he was in there. Making his way to the kitchen, he found her eating breakfast with her roommates. He caught her eye briefly, but she quickly looked away with a stricken expression on her face.

"Sammy." Jake welcomed him. "What are you up to today?"

"Uh…nothing much. I'm going to help Dr. Sumpter with some stuff today."

"You don't go to school here anymore, Winchester. You don't have to suck up." Jake turned to his former roommate with a raised eyebrow. "Unlessss….you're trying to work your way back in?"

Sam cringed at the hopeful expression that filled his friends' faces at those words – especially at the one that filled Maia's. "Sorry. No."

"Well, you can't blame us for thinking that is a possibility, Sam." Sarah piped in teasingly. "After all, you have somebody to stay for now."

Sam cleared his throat and forced himself not to look in Maia's direction, but also recognized this as his chance to let Maia know what he was really feeling since she didn't seem likely to let him talk to her in private. "Believe me, Sarah, if anyone could make me stay in town, it would be Maia. Unfortunately, I just…can't. Right now, anyway."

Sam risked a glance at the girl, happy to see that she was smiling and blushing, even though her face wasalso tinged with sadness.

"Y'know, Sam. I'm really beginning to hate your brother. And I've never even met the guy."

"I know, Sarah. I know. But it's not Dean's fault."

"Whatever. Gotta go!"

Sarah breezed out the door, followed by her boyfriend – and leaving Sam exactly where he wanted to be: alone with Maia. He pulled out the chair next to her, straddling it backwards. She wouldn't look at him, but he started talking anyway.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was using you. I'm not trying to. I meant what I said – I'd stay here if I could. I'd love to date you, see where this could lead. I just don't have the freedom to do that right now. But, if you're up for it, I would love to take advantage of what time we do have together. Would you let me take you to dinner tonight?" Sam swallowed hard, concerned that she still hadn't even looked up at him. "I would…understand…if you didn't want to go out, and if you didn't want to be with me anymore while I'm here. I know it's not really fair of me to ask you for this, when I could be leaving any day."

Finally, Maia looked up and met his eyes. "Sam…I'm sorry if I acted a little high maintenance this morning." She held up a hand to stop his protests. "All I know is, you're one of the best men I've ever met. And it's going to _suck_ when you leave. But I'd rather have you for a little while than not at all."

Sam smiled, grabbed her chair and pulled it and her closer to him for a soft kiss. "Then, I'll see you at 7 for our date."

* * *

Dr. Sumpter's office door was open slightly, so Sam knocked and stuck his head in.

"Hi Sam, come on in."

"Hi, Dr. Sumpter. I take it you figured some more of the details out?"

"I have. Why don't you close the door and have a seat?"

Sam did so, as Dr. Sumpter pulled out a map of the greater Palo Alto area.

"Unfortunately, I still don't have a good idea who's casting the spells – or which demons are the ones being summoned to do so by the witches. As I'm sure you're well aware, most "witches" don't even realize what they're doing. They think it's all fun and games until the blood starts flowing."

"Yeah, we've run into our fair share of witches over the years. But, if you don't have any suspects…?"

"Right. I do have a possible location, though. I've been cross-referencing the suspicious events – deaths, accidents, injuries. They all center around this one block radius here." Dr. Sumpter pointed to an area on the map, and Sam started feeling sick to his stomach. "I went out there yesterday with an EMF and got some pretty good readings from –"

"The house on the corner of Lomita and Museum Way."

Dr. Sumpter looked up at Sam, shocked. "Yes. How did you know?

"It makes sense that that place would be a hot spot for a demon, sir. That's the house Jess and I lived in – where she was killed."

* * *

Becky, Sarah and Maia were all giggling as they ransacked Maia's closet.

"So does it really count as a first date if we already …uh… know each other, and if he's sitting out in the living room with Jake until it's 7:00 and time to knock on my door?"

"Of _course_ it counts!"

"You're such a sappy romantic, Becks."

"What can I say? I like to live vicariously."

"You're "between boyfriends" right now; you don't have to make it sound like you're an old maid."

"Says the girl who's practically _married_ to the love of her life."

"Come on, we're not even engaged."

"Sarah, you and Jake have been living together for years. That makes you common law, at least."

"Shut up. This night is about _Maia_."

"Right, right… Time to find something sexy."

"Oh, no." Maia shook her head.

"Oh yes. I want to see Sam's eyes pop out of his skull!"

Sarah practically had to wrestle Maia into the outfit they picked out, but she was resigned to her fate by the time Becky started fixing her hair. A couple minutes later, Sam knocked on the bedroom door and the girls escorted the two of them all the way to the front door. Sam just shook his head, thinking to himself that he'd rather face all of hell's demons than matchmaking friends ever again. _Even if they did do a pretty good job of matchmaking…_

When they had left, Becky, Lisa and Jake sat in the living room, checking out what was on TV. Elena hadn't been spending much time at the apartment since Sam and Maia stopped hiding their relationship, and that was OK with the rest of them.

Sarah, however, had other ideas now that she had gotten Becky in a room without Sam.

"So…Becky. Are you ever going to tell us what you meant when you said Dean, Sam and their Dad aren't security consultants?"

Becky winced. "Why don't you just ask Sam about it?"

"Lisa and I tried – well, we tried in the sense that we got Maia to ask him. But he told her the same thing he told us."

"Babe," Jake interjected, his focus still mainly on the TV screen. "It's Sam. He's our friend. Leave it alone. I'm sure it's nothing major."

"How can you say that, Jake? He's your _best friend_. And it turns out he might have been lying to us about his past for years?"

"Maybe he had a good reason. I'm not going to go dig into it when he clearly doesn't want us to know."

"Well, I am. And if Becky doesn't want to tell me, then maybe Google will."

Sarah leaned forward to grab her laptop from the coffee table, using her body to shield Becky from her attempts to stop her. "Sam Winchester…" Sarah said as she typed the name into the search engine.

"Sarah, stop. It's going to look worse than it is."

"Becky. Back off." Sarah put her focus back on the screen, in time to see the first couple results popping up. "Oh…my…God."


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for the reviews! They make me happy.

Chapter 12

"I would be so embarrassed if my students knew what I've been doing all night."

Dean chuckled and ran his hand up Viola's bare back. "Did I tell you I used to have a crush on my Social Studies teacher?"

"Oh, I see. You're just fulfilling an old fantasy with me…"

"Yep. Pretty much." Dean recoiled from the smack Viola directed at his chest.

"How old were you?"

"Umm…11."

"Early bloomer, huh?"

"I was honing my skills even then."

"Oh, _God…_" 

Dean laughed again, leaning over for a kiss when he was interrupted by his chirping cell phone. 

"That's my cue," Viola extricated herself from his arms. Dean was distracted by watching her until his phone rang again. 

"Yeah?"

"Dean. It's Bill." Dean winced as guilt washed over him. What would his Dad say if he caught him goofing around with a girl in the middle of a case? Sure, a couple hours' fun here and there was one thing…but this? Downright irresponsible!

"Hey. What's up?"

"Listen, I think we might need to ratchet up our investigation, and figure out how to get rid of this ghost. A girl died here at school last night, after the game."

Dean felt sick to his stomach. "I'll be right over." He let out a shaky breath. "I think I'd better call Sam in, too."

"OK. I'll see you soon. They're cancelling school Monday, so we won't have to worry about that."

Dean hung up, just in time to see Viola walk back in, a stricken expression on her face. Dean figured she had gotten her own phone call with the news. Part of him – the part that wanted a real relationship, that wanted a real life – the part of him that he would never admit to Sam existed – wanted to go to comfort her. 

The part of him that was his Dad's son … well, that part was already eating him up inside. If he had been on top of his game, this girl might not have died. Better to forget about Viola and get back to work.

* * *

It was the most fun Sam had had in a long time. He had made sure to take Maia to a restaurant he had never gone to with Jessica. Sam figured he didn't have much time to make memories with Maia, but they may as well be new ones rather than ones tinged with sadness. 

He watched in amazement as she downed her food – faster than even Dean could eat. 

"I'm impressed." He said, his own fork resting idly in his hand as he watched her.

"What can I say? I'm not one of those "diet" girls." Maia laughed, but she blushed a little too. "Sorry. In my house, dinner was for eating, not talking." 

"That's okay. My family wasn't too big on the whole family dinner thing either."

A slow song started playing, and Maia looked wistfully out to the dance floor that was quickly filling up with couples. Sam noticed the look, took his napkin off his lap, stood and offered his hand. Sam was _not_ a dancer, but the smile that broke out on her face was reward enough. 

Taking her into his arms and swaying slightly, Sam noticed how right she felt in his arms – the first person to feel so right after Jessica. Even Madison and Sarah had still felt awkward. Sighing, Sam pulled her even closer, burying his face in her hair. 

"You know, you're pretty dangerous, Maia."

She pulled her head back to give him a quizzical look. "Why?"

"Because I could see myself falling in love with you."

* * *

Sam and Maia were laughing as they returned home, but stopped immediately at the expressions on their friends' faces. Sarah, who looked like she had been crying, jumped up and ran to Maia to hug her. 

"I'm so glad you're safe."

"Well…thanks. But why wouldn't I be?"

Sarah didn't answer. Instead she pushed Maia behind her, as if to protect her with her body. She glared at Sam, who was confused but, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, was starting to suspect what was going on. 

"Who the hell are you, Sam Winchester?"

"Um…what do you mean?"

Sarah walked over to the coffee table and picked up a print-out. "Sam and Dean Winchester – wanted for multiple counts of fraud, armed robbery, kidnapping. My God, Sam, your brother's wanted for _murder_!"

Sam let out the breath he had been holding and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's not what it looks like…" Becky said before Sam had a chance to think of what to say – and whether it would be the truth or another lie.

He looked at Becky gratefully. Even though it was now confirmed that she was pretty much responsible for his friends researching him in the first place, he was glad to have someone there who was on his side.

Plus, it was nice to look at a friendly face, to avoid looking at the shock on Maia's face, the anger on Sarah's and the betrayal on Jake's.

He would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about telling them the truth before. The closer his friends became, the worse he felt about lying to them. But, the longer it went, the worse it would have been when he finally told them. Not to mention, he was still at that time trying to have a "normal" life.

But now… this wasn't how he would have liked it to come out. In many ways, it would have been easier if they had found out about the things that go bump in the night back in junior year - the first time that the supernatural almost messed up his hopes of a normal life.

Flashback

"My God, Sam. Could you have any more books?" Jake grumbled as he picked up another box from the back of his truck.

"Hey! Did I complain when we moved you and Sarah in to your place?"

"No, but we had a reasonable amount of stuff."

"Yeah, yeah. And you're getting free beers out of this, so shut your trap."

"Oh…right. Never mind."

"That's what I thought."

While Sam and Jake carried furniture and boxes into Sam and Jess' new apartment, the girls were unpacking and decorating it. With every trip in that the boys made, the girls stopped their excited chatter to direct the guys where to put that load. 

"Do you just want to move the stuff in, Sarah?" Jake asked. "It would cut out the middle man."

"But if I did that, I wouldn't get all turned on by you and your manly-manliness." Jake raised an eyebrow, while Sam snorted. 

"She sure knows how to manipulate you, man…"

"Hey, I don't see your girlfriend lifting a finger to carry _her_ stuff in."

"That's because I'm _chivalrous_." Sam joked.

"And _smart_." Jess piped in. 

"I know when I'm beat. Good thing that was the last load. I'm going to go shower. See you guys tonight at Phil's?"

"Sounds good."

After doing a little more unpacking, Sam and Jess tested out their new couch…and bedroom…and shower. Back in the bedroom, Sam sprawled out on the bed and watched Jess get ready for the night. 

"Y'know…I think I'm going to like sharing an apartment with you."

"I bet, sailor."

"We could just stay in and keep celebrating by ourselves."

"Aren't you tired yet?"

"Yeah…._way_ too tired to go out."

"Uh huh."

"And then you wouldn't have to go to all the trouble of makeup and changing and doing your hair and…"

"Sam. We're going out."

Sam let out a big sigh and sat up. "Okay…" He went over to the closet and grabbed a clean shirt, throwing it on over his head, then sitting down to put on his shoes. Looking up, he saw his girlfriend glaring at him, the hand with a mascara brush in it forgotten halfway up to her eye.

"What?"

"I hate you."

Sam chuckled and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her stomach and kissing her bare shoulder. "You love me."

Jess turned in his arms to look up at him, a soft look in her eyes. She reached up to cup his cheek, pulling him down to peck his lips. "Yes, I do."

"Good. Because I love you."

Her hard work in front of the mirror did its job, as every male eye in Phil's was on her the second she and Sam walked in. He had to hide his smirk when the eyes turned away in disappointment after seeing their linked hands. Seeing Sarah and Jake already there and well on their way to tipsy, the two went over to join them. While crossing the room, Sam almost stumbled in his tracks. Something felt … off. He didn't know what. Before he even knew what he was doing, his eyes were scanning the bar, looking for trouble. 

Shaking his head, he told himself to stop that. It had taken awhile, but he had mostly trained himself _out_ of his father's training. There was no way a couple years away would completely erase 18 years, but he was at least working toward it. It wasn't like he took any chances with his safety – the runes and salt had already been placed at the new apartment – but he didn't go out _looking_ for trouble anymore. Especially when he was out for a fun evening with the friends…

Jess was looking at him with a confused, concerned look on her face. Not the first time she had to give him one, probably wouldn't be the last. He gave her a reassuring smile in return, left her with Sarah and Jake and went to the bar. Ordering himself a beer and her a vodka lemonade, he turned back to check out his girlfriend while the drinks were being fixed. _God, she's beautiful…_

"Here ya go, buddy." Sam turned back to the bar to grab the drinks. Grabbing them, he almost dropped them as his mind finally registered what his eyes just saw: a Zenth demon. He wouldn't have realized what it was, if it hadn't obviously been preparing to feed on someone's soul. The Zenth can make themselves appear human, but when they are hungry, the glowing blue eyes give them away.

Sam rushed the drinks back to his friends, making an excuse about the bathroom before turning back toward the Zenth. Luckily for his ruse, the demon was seducing his prey to move to the same, dark hallway that the bathrooms were down. He followed them, easily – too easily slipping into stealth mode. His muscles moved with litheness usually impossible for a man of his height. Gliding through the clumps of people separating him from his prey, Sam reached into his pocket for his knife. After all, he wasn't going to take the chance of going out with a weapon, no matter how normal he wanted to be. 

At the far end of the hallway, the Zenth was already starting to feed. Anyone else walking into the hall would have mistaken the girl's moans for something of a more amorous nature, but Sam's more experienced ears could hear the pain and fear in them. Luckily for him, the Zenth were fairly stupid – when they were busy eating, they didn't pay too much attention to their surroundings. His knife was in the Zenth's back before the demon knew what was happening. It let out a death screech, and Sam helped lower the body to the ground. 

The girl was still in a daze, so was highly susceptible to Sam's suggestion that she go back to her friends. 

"Sam?"

Sam jumped about a foot at Jess' voice. He sprung up from his kneeling position to see her and Sarah standing outside the ladies' room door. 

"Oh…hey…"

"Is that guy okay?"

Sam looked down at the body at his feet. "Yeah. Just a little too much to drink. I'm going to help him into the bathroom." He bent down to hoist the body up, feeling relief wash over him as the girls went into the other bathroom. The second they were out of sight, he let go of the demon, and picked the lock on the door to the alley to drag the body out there. 

Since girls always take a long time in the bathroom, he made it back to the table before they did. Congratulating himself on avoiding a situation that was a little too close for comfort, he didn't hear Jake at first. His roommate snapped his fingers in front of Sam's eyes.

"What?"

"I said, what's that on your shirt?"

"Huh?" Sam looked down to see his shirt drenched with the Zenth's black blood. "Um…a drunk girl spilled her drink on me. Glad he was wearing an undershirt, Sam stripped the dirty one off, bundled it up and put it next to him in the booth. He took a swig of his beer to avoid Jake's look, knowing that _once again_ his explanations were believed…but not completely.

End Flashback

"Sam!" Sarah's exasperated shout brought Sam back to the present. 

Finally making himself look at his friend's faces, he opened his mouth to explain. And closed his mouth. And opened it again. And still no words came.

And that's when he realized…he'd rather have them hate him, have them think he was some kind of criminal, never see them, never have a place where he could go and at least pretend at normalcy. He'd rather have all of that than be the one that ruined normal for them. It was too late for Becky, but the others still could lead a life where they didn't know the things Sam did. 

With one last look at Maia, Sam reached down for his duffel bag - glad he packed it every morning in case that was the day Dean came for him. He turned on his heel and left the house without another word. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Come _on, _Sam. Answer the damn phone." Dean snapped his own phone shut with a growl. "You know better than this." 

Dean had been trying to call Sam all day – in between his calls to all of his dad's friends…and when he was not getting shushed at the library. The guilt from this morning was still weighing on him, and Dean was now researching with a zeal he had never felt for the task before.

And he was also ignoring the strange longing to call Viola – strange because the reason he wanted to call her was to just listen to her voice and hear if she was feeling better than she had been this morning, after receiving the news. 

Dean fairly growled at himself to get his mind back on task. The (still too fresh in his memory) incident with the Djinn should have proved it to him once and for all: he didn't get to _have_ a normal life. If that happens, people die. Sure, it was hard – that's why they call it sacrifice. He just had to focus on this job and take care of the ghost, then he could pick up Sammy and drive away. 

To a different town, and to as many different girls as it took to forget about Viola. 

After making sure no one was around, Dean crouched down in front of the school's gym doors. He whipped out his lockpick, opened the door and slipped inside. Making his way quickly to the haunted hallway, Dean grabbed a bottle of holy water out of his bag. Dipping his finger into the water, he drew protective runes on both walls and the floor. While they wouldn't be as powerful as runes _actually_ drawn, they had the benefit of invisibility. Hopefully, they would be powerful enough to protect the rest of the school's children until Dean could finally figure this out.

Dean left the school and whipped out his phone again. He called Sam again, starting to feel a little weird in his stomach as the phone rang and rang before going to voicemail. He didn't know if he should be happy that Sam hadn't turned off the phone completely, as that showed he still was following _some_ of the rules drilled into them by their father, or if he should be worried.

Who was he trying to kid? Of course, he was worried. 

Guilt may be a powerful driving force for Dean Winchester, but fear for Sammy's life was even more powerful.

He dialed Bill's number next.

"Hello."

"Bill, it's Dean. Listen. I can't seem to get a hold of Sam. I'm going to have to drive to Palo Alto. I'll pick him up and get back here as soon as I can. I put up some runes tonight, so hopefully that will keep things secure until we can get back."

"Ok. But please hurry."

"Don't worry, I will. See you soon."

Clicking his phone shut again, Dean slid into the Impala. He turned the ignition and put the car into drive. His baby came alive, responding to his touch on the wheel almost as if they shared a mind. Settling back in for the drive, he let the car take control of the trip – quickly gaining the speeds she was born to travel on the empty highway before him. The freedom of it, the feel of it. That would have to be enough. 

* * *

Sam stared up at the white ceiling – the same ceiling he had been staring at all night. Hearing Dr. Sumpter and his wife – who, luckily, _knew_ – starting to stir in their bedroom, Sam threw the blanket off and sat up. 

He glanced at his phone on the coffee table next to him – four missed calls, all from Becky (with accompanying voicemails offering him apologies and a place to crash). Sam let out a deep sigh, wondering if it was too early to call Dean. As it was not even 7 a.m. – and Sam valued his life – he decided to wait until after he and Dr. Sumpter went to his old apartment to take care of the coven. Then, he'd call Dean and have him come pick him up, to take him away from Palo Alto probably forever.

Mae Sumpter floated out to the living room, and immediately started fussing over Sam, asking him what he wanted for breakfast, how he had slept, etc., etc. She had been fussing ever since he arrived last night and asked for a place to crash. It was nice – almost enough for Sam to know what having a mom might have felt like. 

She threw together a quick breakfast for "her hunters," then kissed them both on the cheek as a "good luck charm." Dr. Sumpter went into his home office for the weapons – long enough for Mae to grab Sam's hand and beg him to keep an eye on her husband.

"Don't worry. I'll keep him safe."

Mae hugged him tight. "Keep yourself safe, too, sweetheart."

Sam followed Dr. Sumpter to his car, carrying the duffel bags full of weapons while the older man carried a few texts. It was incredibly weird. Here he was, about to go on a hunt _without_ Dean but with his _professor._ It was probably the strangest thing Sam had experienced. And he had experienced some pretty strange things…

The feelings of novelty were quickly replaced by different feelings as the car wound its way through increasingly familiar streets. Sam braced his heart, preparing for his first glimpse of the apartment in such a long time. He knew the fire damage would have been cleaned up by now. But, in many ways, it might have been easier to see the old place if it was still damaged. It _should_ be marked in some way. The place of death of a woman like that shouldn't just be covered up, as if it never happened, as if she had never lived there. 

Sam felt nauseous as they turned onto the old road. Soon, the apartment came into view. It was exactly as he remembered it. And that hurt even more because part of him just wanted to open the door, walk in and see her waiting for him like the last couple years was all a dream. A nightmare.

Taking a shaky breath, Sam reminded himself why he and Dr. Sumpter were there. Some nasty demon was _using_ the site of Jess' death to corrupt and destroy women who probably started out thinking they were just playing at witchcraft, like the women in Sturbridge. The demon was desecrating the apartment that he and Jess had shared together. It may have been the location of her death, but the apartment also was the place of far better memories, and Sam wouldn't let some demon ruin that for him too. 

Grabbing the bag of weapons, Sam led the way into his old apartment.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Dean rolled into Palo Alto about midnight, briefly wondering if it was too late to go pounding on doors on a Sunday night – a school night for Sam's friends. 

Then again, Sam still wasn't answering his phone.

Neither, technically, was he – at least when Viola was the one calling. She had tried three times that day, and Dean felt lower than low for ignoring her. 

But that was _different…_

Turning the key, the Impala's soothing growl was cut off. Dean eased out of the driver's seat, not even sore from what some people would consider a long ride but was short for him and Sam. Playing with his keys, he jumped up the steps and rang the doorbell several times.

A pissed off-looking girl in pajamas flung the door open. "What?"

"Hi. Sorry. Is Sam here?"

The girl glared at him for a second before answering. "I don't know. They were all in their rooms when I got back tonight. Come on in."

"Thanks…?"

"Elena."

"Thanks, Elena."

Dean followed her into the apartment, impatiently waiting as she headed toward the hallway. Fortunately, the noise had attracted the interest of the other residents and they started coming out before Elena had to go too far.

"Hey, Maia?" Elena said, a sneer audible in her voice. "Where's your boytoy?"

Dean raised an eyebrow at that comment. _Alright, Sammy…_Then he noticed the tear streaks on the girl's face, and the fear came back full force. But he really knew something was up when the male pushed his way to the front of the group to stand in front of the females. 

"You're Dean?"

"Yep."

"Get out of this house before I call the cops."

Dean recoiled, caught off guard by the response from the man he knew to be Sam's best friend and former roommate. "Umm…what?"

"You heard me."

"Look, man. I don't know what's going on. I'm just looking for Sammy."

"Sam left last night."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, after we found out you were a _murderer_, we wanted to know what was going on. Instead of telling us, he just walked out the door."

Dean let out a wry chuckle and shook his head. "You know, I'm a big brother – so I like telling Sammy that "I told him so." But I truly wish I didn't have to say that about him wanting to have friends."

Sam's friends started to look more confused than scared, and Dean almost wished he had the time to truly explain. But he didn't – Sam was out there alone somewhere, and that's all that mattered to him. Turning on his heel toward the door, he stopped in his tracks when the girl – Maia? – spoke up. 

"You might want to try Rebecca Warren's. She went out after him."

Dean turned back to Sam's friends. "Becky Warren, huh? You know – in your attack on Sam, did you happen to notice that one of the people I supposedly murdered was Becky's brother's girlfriend. And I supposedly held Becky as a hostage and tried to murder her too. Do you really think she would still be on Sam's and my side if that was true?"

Dean paused, allowing his words to sink in. Sam's friends caught each other's eyes. They had confusion written on their faces – and a little bit of guilt. 

"And if that isn't true, think about what else might not be true? And, of course, what _is_ true."

Dean was back in his Impala and ready to drive off in record time, but to his surprise, the passenger door opened before he could put his baby in drive. Jake lowered his body into the car and met Dean's questioning, shocked look. 

"I'm coming with you."

"Why?"

"Because you don't know where Becky lives." Jake turned to buckle his seatbelt. "And because I owe Sam an apology."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Dean, Jake and now Becky, were back in his car, heading back to Jake's place. Dean's stomach felt like there was lead sitting in it. Becky hadn't seen Sam since last night either. Why didn't Sam call him to come get him? Why wasn't he answering his damn phone? 

The women were still up and sitting in the living room, obviously talking about and trying to make sense of what was going on. They seemed to know immediately that something was up when the three of them walked in. Dean was happy to note that they didn't look scared of him anymore – just scared…like he was.

"Alright." Dean said. "One of you try calling him. Maybe he's just ignoring my calls because he's in a funk." 

Jake and Maia both grabbed their cell phones. Dean's heart drooped a little bit with each passing moment, knowing they were hearing the same pointless ringing that he had been hearing all day. Both ended the calls and set their phones back down.

Maia hit herself in the forehead with her own hand. "Dr. Sumpter."

Dean looked up, hope and interest in his eyes. "What?"

"Sam might be at Dr. Sumpter's – his advisor. He was going to help him with a project or something before he left with you."

"Do you have his number?"

"Yeah, it's on my syllabus. Hold on." Maia left the room, coming back quickly with a packet of paper. Picking up her phone again, she dialed the number. "Uh…hi. Mrs. Sumpter? I'm so, so sorry for calling so late…My name is Maia. Is Sam Winchester there?...He was?"

Dean's heart soared, sure Sam must be safe. But his joy faded as quickly as the smile on Maia's face did. She covered the phone to tell the others that Sam had crashed at the professor's last night but the two of them went out this morning and hadn't returned yet. She moved her hand and went back to the conversation.

"It's just that Sam's brother Dean is here, looking for him…uh huh, sure." Maia held out the phone to Dean. "She wants to talk to you."

Dean launched himself off the couch and grabbed the phone from Maia. "Hello?"

Sam's college friends watched his brother's face as the woman on the other end spoke. They knew it was bad news for Dean, but Becky was the only one that knew how bad it could truly be. The others, obviously, didn't know there was something that bad to be afraid of. 

They were even more confused when Dean gave the woman their address. "I'll see you soon."

Dean hung up and handed the phone back to Maia.

"What is it, Dean?" Becky asked, receiving no answer. Instead, Dean pulled a battered leather journal out of his back pocket and flipped the pages open. Finding the one he wanted, he slammed it down on the coffee table and pointed to a phone number and the name _Jack S. – Palo Alto._

"Dr. Sumpter's first name is Jack- he was my father's friend. Apparently he and Sam went out today." Dean and Becky shared a meaningful look.

"Out to do what?" Maia asked.

"Hunt."

"Hunt?" Jake was even more confused than before.

"Yeah…It's what me and Sammy do…"

"Hunt _what_?"

"The supernatural."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"The…the supernatural?" Maia was the first to gain her wits about her and ask the question they were all thinking.

Dean and Becky exchanged glances. Dean launched into an abbreviated story of how the Winchester family got involved in the family business. When that was over, he and Becky took turns explaining how she came to know about it.

Sam's friends sat stock still, staring at them both as the stories unfolded. Dean was glad Becky was there, as he knew they wouldn't have believed him without a friend there to corroborate.

At the end of the stories, Dean sat quietly, waiting for any kind of reaction – and hoping it wasn't a call to the police.

"So…to sum up…the things of nightmares are real?" Sarah asked.

"Yep. Pretty much."

"And you guys kill them?"

"Yes."

"You know," Jake said thoughtfully, eyes looking up to the ceiling. "It kinda actually explains some stuff about Sam's actions over the years."

Dean smiled. "I thought it might."

"And the tattoo..." Maia said quietly, almost in a daze.

Dean grinned and pulled the collar of his shirt over to show an identical tattoo. "It's to prevent demonic possession."

"So what is going on with Sam right now? Why is Dr. Sumpter's wife coming over?" Sarah asked, fear in her voice.

"Well, from what Mrs. Sumpter said on the phone, Dr. Sumpter used to be a hunter too. That's how he knew our father. I guess Sam didn't know while he attended school here. Anyway, Dr. Sumpter asked Sam to go with him on a hunt of some witches, but they haven't come back yet. Mrs. Sumpter is bringing her husband's research over. When I find out what's going on, and where Sammy is, I'll go get him."

Dean just hoped it turned out to be as easy as it sounded.

"Witches…doesn't that mean humans? Are you going to kill them?" Sarah asked.

"Usually, with witches, they're being controlled by the demon they sold their soul to for powers. Our main concern is the demon, but that doesn't mean we won't do what we have to protect ourselves."

"And how are you planning on getting rid of the demon?" Elena asked.

Dean's answer was interrupted by the doorbell. Even though it wasn't his house, he jumped up to answer it and let a harried, worried Mrs. Sumpter in. She glanced at the others, then back to Dean.

"It's OK. They know."

"OK. Here's what I have. I figure the most important thing is the location. We need to get Jack and Sam back, and then you boys can take care of the demon after we know for sure that everyone is safe.

"Sounds good to me."

Mae spread a large map of Palo Alto on the kitchen table. The map had red circles drawn on it in various places. "These are the locations of some of the recent supernatural activity that Jack has been tracking. They seem to center around this area, but Jack never told me the final location he and Sam were going to."

Dean bent over the map to look closer, trying to see a pattern in the red circles that would tell him where Sammy was. The pattern didn't jump out, but a street name did. Missouri's words about places where terrible things happen being magnets for demon activity ran through his head.

He looked at Sam's friends' faces with a stricken expression on his face. "I know where they are…the old apartment."

_

* * *

_

Grabbing the bag of weapons, Sam led the way into his old apartment.

Sam opened the door to the apartment.

He let out a huge sigh and dropped his bag to the floor with a thunk. Jess turned to look at him from her seat on the couch, muted the TV and smiled.

"How'd the test go?"

"Good, I think." Sam shuffled over to her, flopped down on the couch and rested his head in her lap. "But I am utterly drained."

"Aww poor baby." Jess cooed, running her hands through his hair.

"Somehow I don't think you really feel all that bad for me."

"Hey, you're the one that wanted to go the law school route."

"I know, I know."

"Well." Jess said, pushing him off her lap. "I wish I could stay home and relax with you, but someone has to work around here."

Sam moved over to allow her to stand, watching her walk away from him to get ready for her job. His eyes followed her contentedly around the room. Even after so long, he was still in awe that she was with him.

Jess said goodbye and closed the door behind her. Sam waited just long enough to be safe before jumping off the couch, all signs of exhaustion gone. Excitement coursed through him as he raced to the kitchen to start preparing her favorite meal of chicken marsala. She had a short shift tonight, so he didn't have all that much time.

And it went by quickly.

But, when she walked back in the door, he was ready. The food was on the nicely set table, softly lit by vanilla candles. Jazz was playing in the background, and flowers were in his hands.

"Sam!" Jess looked about ready to cry, and Sam couldn't help but feel entirely proud of himself. "What's all this for?"

"Well…it's the anniversary of when we said we loved each other for the first time." Sam put a hand to his chest in mock hurt. "You didn't remember?"

Jess laughed and shook her head. "No! How on earth did you remember something like that?"

"I guess I'm just the world's best boyfriend."

"And so modest…" Jess walked seductively to cover the distance between them, taking the flowers from him and pulling him down for a deep kiss.

When it ended, Sam kept her in his arms, bending down to whisper in her ear. "I love you a hundred times more today than I did that day."

"Me too."

Sam pulled away to smile at her, a glint in his eye. Her eyes, however, held confusion that quickly turned to shock as he lowered himself down in front of her. Pulling a black box out of his pocket, he met her eyes.

"How about letting me be the world's best husband?"


	16. Chapter 16

You all are so great! Your reviews have inspired me a lot (as you may have noticed given that I've updated quite a bit recently!) I've also been throwing around some ideas in my head about a possible sequel, focusing more on Dean and his issues and the Crossroads deal (Normally, I'm a "Sam girl" but...there's just something about Dean, isn't there? :) ). But, before I spend time on that instead of homework like I SHOULD do, I wanted to see if there was any interest. So...would you guys be interested?

Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 16

Sam's friends were still a little in shock over Dean's announcement that the demon was at Sam and Jessica's old place. Dean, meanwhile, was already in motion - slinging his jacket on, grabbing a gun and checking to make sure it was loaded. He slid the gun into the waistband of his jeans and made his way toward the door.

"Wait." Jake said. "I'm coming with you."

"Uh, no you're not." Dean said simply.

"Yes, I am. What if you need back up?"

"You don't know how to fight these things. What kind of back up would you be?"

"Better than none at all." Jake said, crossing his arms resolutely.

Dean didn't want to waste any more time fighting. He went back to his duffel bag and grabbed another gun. "Do you know how to shoot?"

"A little."

"Good." Dean handed the gun over, and headed back to the door. Jake was right behind him, ignoring Sarah's fearful protests.

Dean didn't need any directions as he sped through the streets of Palo Alto. He knew how to get to Sam's apartment from anywhere in the city – he and his dad made sure of that during their secret visits, in case they needed to get to him quickly.

The Impala came to an abrupt stop outside of the apartment. The building was quiet, dark, _normal_. Dean shut off the ignition and was out of the car in one fluid motion. Jake moved a little slower, fear evident on his face. He already had the gun out and ready, but he looked uncomfortable and unnatural holding it.

If he was hunting with John or Sam, Dean would have suggested splitting up and entering the house from two different directions. With Jake, however, he knew that would be more of a liability than a good strategy. So instead he held a finger to his lips to indicate quiet and ran up to the front door. He put his ear to the door, listening for any sounds.

Hearing nothing, Dean backed up a few steps, took out his own gun and kicked the door open. Entering quickly, he scanned the room, ready to shoot anything that jumped out at him. The only thing he saw, however, were two bodies.

* * *

Sam wasn't so glad it was Spring Break anymore. Sure, he didn't have any classes for a week, but it's not like he was work-free. Jess had put him to work helping her plan the wedding. He kept reminding her that they set the date for a _year_ away, but that didn't seem to slow her down any.

So here he was, sitting at their kitchen table, flipping through bridal magazines with her. He was _supposed_ to be looking for ideas. Really, he was just pausing long enough on each page to make it look like he was looking for ideas.

It's not that he wasn't excited about the wedding – about marrying her. And he wanted it to be everything she dreamed of. And he certainly wasn't going to be one of those guys who didn't do anything to help and let the bride take care of everything.

It's just that he was too busy thinking about something else he wanted to do for the wedding. Something he wanted so badly. Something he didn't think was going to happen.

Ask Dean to be his best man.

Like usual, whenever he thought of his brother, his heart ached and he felt nauseous. Sam hadn't spoken with Dean in over five long years…not since the day he had left for Stanford with his Dad's words telling him to stay gone still ringing in his ears.

He hadn't even been able to _look_ at Dean during that last fight. He didn't want to see in his eyes the pain and abandonment. But more importantly, he didn't want to look in case those weren't the feelings that were there. Sam wouldn't have been able to bear it if the feelings in his brother's eyes were instead anger and betrayal.

Dean followed their father so blindly. He just didn't…couldn't…understand why Sam felt the way he did. Sam wanted to tell him that he wasn't leaving Dean, just John. But Dean wouldn't be able to see it that way. To Dean, that was the same thing.

So, they hadn't spoken. He had had no contact with the person who had been his constant companion for his whole life. For the first couple months at Stanford, being without Dean had been almost a physical pain. Now, after all this time, it had faded but it was still with him. He wondered if Dean felt the same way … or if he had cut him out of his heart the way their Dad had…

Dean was the only person in the world he would want to be his best man. Even Jake would be a far, far second.

But would Dean do it?

These thoughts had been weighing on Sam's mind since pretty much the same time Jess had said yes to his proposal. He decided it was finally time to do something about it. With a quick smile at his fiancée, he stood from the table and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He waved at her in explanation before taking it into their bedroom and closing the door.

Sitting on the bed, he flipped the phone open. Finding Dean's number on his contact list, Sam's finger hovered over the Send button. It wasn't the first time Sam had sat in this very position over the years. All those other times, fear about what his brother would say … or not say… stopped him from completing the call. Clenching his jaw, Sam sat up straighter, pushed the button before he could talk himself out of it, and put the phone to his ear.

_Ring_

_Ring_

"Sammy?" Dean's voice still sounded so familiar to Sam – like they had last talked five minutes ago instead of five years. He could hear the confusion and, because it was Dean, a little bit of underlying worry.

Sam cleared his throat. "Hi, Dean."

"Are you OK?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah. You?"

"Sure." Silence.

Sam stood and started walking, hugging his stomach with his free arm. He was too nervous to sit still.

"What's going on, Sam? Why'd you call?" Sam closed his eyes in pain. The confusion and worry was already gone from Dean's voice. He was using his business voice, as if Sam was just another case. No need to let emotion enter into a case, after all.

"Um…Dean. I'm getting married."

More silence.

"Her name is Jess. She's…she's amazing. You'd like her."

Still silence. Sam cleared his throat again.

"Anyway. I, uh, was wondering if you'd be my best man?"

"Wow." Dean let out a little chuckle. "Little Sammy getting married. Does…Dad know?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad things are going so well for you. When's it going to be?"

"Next April."

"Great. Listen, I have to go. There's a banshee here, and Dad wants to head out soon."

"Oh…okay." Sam's voice sounded defeated, monotone. He gripped the phone tightly in his hand, not wanting to hang up yet – not wanting to end the first conversation they've had in so long. He had been hungry for Dean for so long, and this little taste only made it worse, not better.

He wondered if Dean felt the same way, as neither hung up. They sat there, listening to the other breathe, both wanting to say the things they've dreamed about saying for so long – the things that would bridge the gap of time, of distance, of heartache. It was odd that Dean, the one who hated emotional moments and sharing feelings, was the one that finally found the right words.

"But Sam…" His voice was so quiet, Sam had to strain to hear it over the connection. "I would love to be your best man."

* * *

Dean rushed over to the two bodies, quickly squatting down to feel for a pulse at the first one. Jake had entered the room slowly, staring at the bodies with a pale, nauseated expression.

"Are they okay?" He asked quietly.

Dean looked up at him and shook his head. "No, they're dead."

Standing up from the bodies of the two young women, Dean started moving again. The witches – or at least that was what he assumed they were – were no longer a concern. But Sammy still was.

Dean led the way into the kitchen. It too was empty. He proceeded to climb the stairs – slowly, with his gun and flashlight pointing the way. Reaching the second floor, he quickly ascertained that the bathroom too was clear. This only left the bedroom. He took a deep breath and burst in, again ready for whatever he might find.

Noting immediately that the demon didn't seem to be there either, he stuffed his gun back into his jeans and ran to the bed.

"Sam! Sammy!" Dean reached out to shake his brother, who was sprawled out on the bed as if he was just sleeping. Nothing. The younger Winchester showed no sign of waking, and Dean's concern grew.

He only half-noticed Jake crouch down next to an older man, who was crumpled on the floor next to the bed. His attention was grabbed, however, when the older man started to groan, sitting up with a hand to his head.

"Dr. Sumpter?" Jake asked quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. The older man quickly came back fully to consciousness, and started to stand with Jake's help.

"Are you Dean?"

"Yes. What happened? What's wrong with Sam?"

"Let's get out of here, first, then I'll tell you everything that happened."

Jake helped Dr. Sumpter as they left the room. Dean grabbed Sam's arm and hoisted him up over his shoulder, grunting at the weight of the taller man. Carrying him down the stairs, the four men piled into the Impala and sped away.


	17. Chapter 17

Man, I am ON FIRE! You all are very inspiring! (BTW, Pikouaencore, I added the tattoo part just for you!)

Enjoy! (Also, any more interest in a Dean sequel? I only have one response to the last time I asked.)

Chapter 17

Dean was worried. Sam _still_ hadn't woken up – even after being manhandled out of the apartment and into the car. Now, back at Jake's, he carried him once again.

Sarah, Becky and Maia sprung to their feet immediately as Jake opened the door and led the way in. Dr. Sumpter, following him, held out his arms as Mae ran into them with a cry of happiness. Maia, meanwhile, let out a cry of distress as she saw Dean carrying Sam into the room. The three girls quickly moved away from the couch to give room for Dean to lower his brother down onto it.

"What's wrong?"

"Is he okay?"

"What's going on?"

The questions came like a wave but Dean ignored them, turning instead to Dr. Sumpter. "So now that we're back, what happened?"

_

* * *

_

Grabbing the bag of weapons, Sam led the way into his old apartment.

Sam had only taken one step into his old apartment when a ball of light hit him straight in the chest. He collapsed, unconscious. Caught off guard, Dr. Sumpter dropped the book he held and reached for the only weapon he carried, a small gun in his coat pocket. A strong wind knocked it out of his hands.

Dr. Sumpter watched in shock as Sam's body moved by itself, quickly being pulled inside by some unseen force. Sumpter followed, hoping he'd find some way to beat these witches on his own, and save Sam in the process.

Once he was inside, the door slammed shut behind him. As his eyes adjusted to the dark room, he saw three women standing in a half circle before him. He easily picked out the demon, who was clearly pretending to be just another human member of the coven. She was the obvious leader, as the other two still appeared to look uncomfortable at hurting other people.

But, they didn't look uncomfortable for too long, as the demon stuck one hand into each of their heads. Light streamed out of their heads and into her fingertips, as the witches let out death sighs and crumpled to the ground.

Smiling evilly, the demon crossed her arms over chest. "Hello, Dr. Sumpter."

Gulping, the older man alternated between staring at her and at Sam's prone body.

"You don't need to worry about Sam. He's perfectly fine – in fact, in his mind, he's even having a good time." The demon uncrossed her arms to point at Sam. As she lifted her arm, he floated up about a foot off the ground. "Let's go upstairs, shall we? We can make Sam a little more comfortable up there."

Dr. Sumpter felt his body moving without his control. Fighting it every step of the way, he jerkily ascended the steps behind the demon, who continued to move Sam in front of her. When they reached the bedroom, she moved Sam's body to the bed, finally dropping her arm when he was situated.

"Why are you doing this?" Dr. Sumpter asked. "Why play games? Why not just kill us?"

"Because I figured, why settle for Sam when I can get both Winchesters?"

* * *

"At that point, she must have knocked me unconscious because I don't remember anything else."

The others all turned to look at Dean, to gauge his reaction of the demon's final words. As typical, he shrugged off any concern for his own safety and instead asked "What did she mean by Sam's having a good time in his mind? And why won't he wake up?"

"It means…" drawled a voice from behind them. Everyone turned to see Elena, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, having finally rejoined them in the living room for the first time since they returned. "that Sam's spirit is currently enjoying life with Jess. Why would you want him to have to wake up from that?"

She smiled evilly as Dr. Sumpter grabbed the gun that Jake had put down on the kitchen table and pointed it at her. "It's her."

A/N: Sorry this chapter's so short. Just thought it would be a good cliffhanger ending!

Also, I know it was kind of obvious to have Elena be the evil demon. I thought about changing my plans when some of you had guessed…but I decided to just keep with my original thoughts.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"You bitch!" Dean growled, whipping his gun out to point at her. Before he could do anything else, Elena held out her arm, her power forcing Dean against the wall. He couldn't move any part of his body. From the struggle and pain on his face, the others could tell it wasn't for lack of trying.

The gun in Dr. Sumpter's hands was easily taken care of as well, but the older man was spared a bone crunching collision with the wall.

Elena's roommates stared at her, mouths open in shock.

"Elena?" Sarah asked quietly, her voice trembling in fear.

Despite having heard the truth from Becky and Dean earlier, the idea of the supernatural hadn't been _real_ to them until now. The friends looked at each other, at a loss for words. Jake put his arms around Sarah, hugging her to him while also moving to stand slightly in front of her.

Becky obviously wasn't as shell-shocked. She grabbed the poker from the fireplace and ran at Elena with a yell. Maia yelped as the other girl's body lifted itself into the air, the poker traveling in one direction while Becky landed on and broke the coffee table. Moaning in pain, Becky rolled over and tried to get up but only made it to her knees before collapsing back down.

"Let them go, you bitch." Dean growled from the other side of the room. "And wake Sam up! NOW!"

"Now, where's the fun in that, Dean?" Elena strolled over to stand in front of the older Winchester. She reached out a hand to gently rub the side of his face, before grabbing his face in a vice-like grip. Dean grimaced in pain but wouldn't give her the satisfaction of further reaction.

"What do you want?"

Elena chuckled, let his face go and walked back to the couch to look down at Sam. She kneeled down next to him, ignoring Maia's soft mewl of protest and fear, and ran her fingers repeatedly through his hair.

"You know…" Elena's voice was soft and sing-songy, almost as if she was talking just to Sam and no one else was in the room or listening. "The others thought I was wasting my time, waiting here for you to come back. 'Sam Winchester will never return to Palo Alto.' That's what everyone said."

"But I knew. I knew eventually you'd come back. I can't tell you how _difficult_ it was, pretending to be human. It took forever to work my way into an apartment with your friends. But it all paid off, didn't it. You're back. And you're mine."

"Get away from him!" Dean shouted.

Elena looked up at him, grinning evilly. "And I get a bonus gift too!"

Turning to look at her roommates, Elena glared at them with obvious disdain. "I realize humans are incredibly stupid, but how could you _not _tell there was something special about Sam? I mean, he has such power! It practically spreads out from him in waves."

She turned her attention back to the peacefully sleeping Winchester. "Such potential. And you wanted to _waste_ it on a normal life with that silly little blonde. My goodness…if it wasn't for what you've done the last couple years, I would have no respect for you at all."

Elena cupped Sam's cheek with her palm. "Don't worry, Sam. Now you get to have that normal life." She looked up at Dean. "You see, Dean, Sam's spirit is getting to live the life he didn't get to. For all Sam knows, he's living in a world where you never came back for him, where your dad never disappeared and died, where Jess never died … where he gets to _marry_ Jess. He won't even realize – or feel it – when his body dies, and his power transfers to me. He'll just go on happily living that life. You have to admit, Dean, it's more generous than some of my friends would be…"

Elena looked back at Sam, an evil glint in her eye. She ignored Dean's shouts and screams and threats, instead bending the fingers of the hand cupping his cheek and pushing her fingers into his head. Light started to stream out of his head and into her fingertips.

* * *

Sam rubbed his forehead, tiredly picking up his pen to continue taking notes for tomorrow's class.

"Headache?" Jess asked. They were sitting at the kitchen table together, both working on homework.

"A little…really, I'm just tired."

Jess grinned crookedly at him. "Weee…could always take a break…" She purred, rubbing her foot up his calf. Sam smiled and half-blushed, not taking his eyes off the page but clearly no longer reading. He didn't say anything for a second, but then stood quickly, pushed their books off their table, lifted up his fiancée and laid her back down on the table.

"OK."

Jess threw back her head and laughed heartily. When she had composed herself, she looked into Sam's goofy smile. "Not so tired anymore huh?"

"Nope." Sam shook his head energetically, the grin still on his face.

"You're silly."

Sam's grin morphed into a soft, loving smile. He leaned forward to kiss her, moving from her lips to her ear to her neck. His heart soared when she bent her head to whisper in his ear. "Promise me we'll still feel this way when we're 80."

Sam lifted his head back up to meet her eyes. "I promise," he whispered back, and kissed her again.

* * *

Maia and Sarah were crying, and all the friends were obviously trying to get to Elena and pull her away from Sam. They, too, however, had no control over their bodies and could only watch in vain as something they didn't understand happened.

Dean's shouts and threats combined into one long "Noooo!" as the light continued to stream out of his brother's head. His scream faded though, when Elena fell back from Sam and landed on her butt. She stared in shock as the light continued to stream out of Sam – but up into the air instead of into her. From the look on her face, Dean knew something was happening that shouldn't. He only hoped that it was something good for him and Sam.

Everyone in the room watched in fear and awe – even Dean, Sumpter and Becky, who were used to strange sights. The light morphed into a shape. A human shape.

"No…it's not possible." Elena whispered.

"Jess?" Sarah asked, her voice strangled and raw.

A/N: I like and want reviews, so I'm going to let you all in on a little secret...I went on a writing splurge and finished the last couple chapters of this story tonight. But I'm only going to post one a day (unless I get a lot of reviews, then I'll post more often.) I know; I'm evil. MWA HA HA HA!! Wait - Maybe I'm possessed. Then Dean and Sam can come rescue me... Hmm... :)


	19. Chapter 19

Thanks for the nice reviews! I need to remember to blackmail more often... :)

This chapter was by far my favorite one to write. I hope you enjoy it just as much!

Chapter 19

"Oh my God…Jess?" Sarah raised a hand to her mouth, eyes shining with both tears and fear.

"It's not _possible_!" Elena shrieked. "You can't be _here_. Your spirit is tied to the house."

The ghost glided closer to Elena, a righteous fury almost palpably surrounding her. "I _am_ connected to the house. But…you were the one that connected Sam to the house, too. You have only yourself to blame." The ghost kneeled down next to the demon, putting her face directly into hers. "_You _were the one that made it possible for me to travel along this connection."

"But why are you are here? Why do you want to try and stop me? You're getting Sam back. You get to have him with you forever!"

Jess scoffed. "Only someone who doesn't understand what love truly is would ask that question." The ghost stood and crossed her arms resolutely. "Now…let Sam go…and LEAVE!" The last word roared out of her mouth, reverberating around the room, causing frames and knick-knacks to rattle.

Elena started to scream, as Jess' ghost began to glow brightly. Elena, in turn, started to look like she was burning up from the inside out. Lights flickered as the two supernatural forces clearly were locked in a battle of wills.

* * *

"I can't _believe_ you're making me wear this monkey suit," Dean whispered to his brother, as they stood at the front of the church, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

"But you look great," Sam whispered back. "And imagine how it will help you pick up bridesmaids."

A mock-thoughtful look flashed across Dean's face. "True, true. I _am _damn fine."

Sam chuckled, hardly able to contain his joy at having Dean finally with him again.

It was almost enough to make him ignore the weird feeling at how _fast_ this year had gone by. So fast he really couldn't actually remember experiencing the events his brain told him he remembered.

That nagging concern vanished, though, as the music soared and Jess came into view. She had never looked so beautiful to Sam.

Sam's grin was so wide it hurt his cheeks. Jess' smile matched, and their eyes gazed into each other's the entire time it took for her and her father to walk down the aisle.

Taking her hand from her father's, Sam turned with her to face Jess' priest – and Pastor Jim, who was co-officiating at Sam's request. The man had practically been a second father figure for Sam, since John had left him in his care so much when he was younger. Those visits were also responsible for Sam's own faith.

Pastor Jim gave Sam a small smile, and subtly cocked his head to the right. Sam quickly glanced in that direction, surprised to see John standing in the shadows. He had never told his father about the wedding. He was sure Dean had, but never asked him about it. He was too afraid of what Dean would report.

But, now, he was pleasantly surprised – if a little disbelieving – to see the wide smile on John Winchester's face.

Feeling now as if this day couldn't get any better, Sam turned his attention back to Jess and took her to be his wife.

* * *

With a final roar of anger and disbelief, Elena completely burnt up. With her power gone, Dean slid back to the floor and the others found they could move too. However, with the ghost still in the room, no one actually did move – they were too busy waiting and watching to see what happened next.

The ghost slowly turned to face her old friends. Dean almost laughed at the fact that _she_ looked afraid at seeing _them_ again. "I'm sorry...I don't have much time…" she whispered. Smiling sadly, mainly at Sarah, she lifted a hand and blew a kiss. "I miss you guys!"

The ghost was already beginning to fade. She turned to look down at Sam, the sad smile growing soft with love. Kneeling down by his side, she mirrored Elena's earlier actions by running a hand through his hair then cupping his cheek. She placed her other hand against his chest and bent her head down to whisper into his ear.

* * *

Sam held Jess close as they danced their first dance as husband and wife. He smiled as she slowed them down to a mild swaying, bringing one hand up to run through his ear and cup his cheek. She moved her other hand from his shoulder to rest it against his chest.

Standing up on her tiptoes, she stretched her mouth toward his ear. Taking pity on her, Sam bent down to make it easier for her.

"Sam…you know this isn't real, don't you?" The joyous smile on the younger Winchester's face remained, but it no longer reached his eyes. The nagging feeling from before returned full force, and Sam realized he had always been half-waiting for something to happen. "Oh, how I wish it was. I would have loved to be married to you…But you have to go back now. Listen to Dean, Sam…what he says is true – I _do _want you to be happy, I _don't_ want you to blame yourself for my death. Someday, you will get to have a … somewhat…normal life. And, if that's with Maia, I couldn't be happier because she's a great girl. Just as long as you find it with _someone_, Sam, I'll be happy."

"But it can't happen just yet, my love, because you still have some work to do."

Jess moved away from his ear to smile up at a heart-broken Sam one last time. She pulled his head down into a deep kiss.

* * *

Sarah, Maia, and a now-awake Becky had tears in their eyes as they watched Jess move her head away from Sam's ear to smile down at him one more time. The ghost leaned forward to place her phantom lips against his real ones…and faded away.

The second she was gone, Sam launched up into a sitting position, breathing heavily as wild eyes darted around the room in panic. Dean got up off the floor and ran to his brother's side, just in time to see his face clear of confusion and instead crumple up in agony. Folding the taller man into his arms as if he was still the smaller one, Dean rocked Sam back and forth as he burst into gut-wrenching, heart-breaking sobs.


	20. Chapter 20

You get two chapters today!

Chapter 20

After a few minutes of sobbing into his brother's shoulder, Sam pushed Dean away and stood. He held out a hand in protest as Dean looked like he wasn't about ready to let Sam walk away. Unable to even look at his friends, Sam stumbled down the hallway and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

An hour later and he was still in there. Dean was ready to break down the door to make sure Sammy was alright. And he would have too, if it wasn't for the "I'm fine, Dean" that he called out every time Dean pounded on the door. After the latest attempt to get through, Dean came back out into the living room, sighed with great gusto and flopped onto the couch next to Mae and Dr. Sumpter. Jake was sitting in the armchair with Sarah on his lap, while Becky and Maia sat on the floor.

No one had talked much. They were still taking everything in. Sarah, though, finally broke the silence.

"Dean?"

The older Winchester turned his head to look at her, exhaustion clear on his face. "Yeah?"

"Why was Jess still around? Why was she tied to the house? The only thing that's kept me going was knowing she was in a better place." Sarah started to cry. "And now I know she wasn't…"

Dean leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees, grimacing as his sore muscles protested the move. "It probably had something to do with how she died. Yes, she died in a fire – but it wasn't a regular fire. Jess was killed by the same demon that killed our mother." Dean paused, quickly deciding to spare Jess' friends the details of her death. "That's one of the main reasons Sam returned to hunting – to get revenge."

"Did Jess know?" Jake asked.

Dean shook his head.

The group fell into silence once again. Shortly after, Dr. Sumpter and his wife took their leave, asking Dean to have Sam call him when he felt up to it. When the clock struck three, the others could no longer keep their eyes open despite their concern for their friend. Jake, Sarah and Maia went to their rooms, and Becky took the couch. Dean surreptitiously watched as Maia paused outside the bathroom, reaching out to touch the door briefly before moving on. She looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Dean knew how she felt.

After she had gone into her room, Dean took her spot outside the bathroom door. He too reached out to touch the coarse wood. Not knowing what to say, he turned around and slid to the floor, back resting against the door. He fell asleep like that, not knowing that Sam was in the same position on the other side.

* * *

Morning came sooner than Dean would have liked – and more abruptly, as Sam opened the bathroom door, causing him to fall backward onto the hard tile.

"Ouch."

"Sorry. What were you doing sitting there?"

"Trying to hear if you cut your wrists."

"I'm not suicidal, Dean."

"Whatever. How are you doing?" Dean picked himself up, and led the way out to the kitchen. They were quiet when passing the living room as not to wake Becky up. The scratches on her face from the coffee table were quickly turning into nasty-looking bruises. Dean winced when he saw them. "Poor girl…"

Making them both a cup of coffee, Dean handed one of the mugs over to his brother, who looked like he had slept even less than Dean did. "So, do you want to talk about it?"

"Dean…you never want to talk about things."

"I know, Samantha, but you do."

Sam grinned, looking down at his coffee. "No…not right now. I'm – I'm okay, Dean, really. It was hard at first – I felt like I lost her all over again. But she said some things to me at the end that really helped." He took a sip. "And I'm not ready to share those things yet."

"OK." Dean took a sip of his own coffee. "Well, I'm here if you need me."

Sam grinned. "I know." He let out a sigh and focused on the yard outside the window. "So…how's the case in Sacramento going?"

"Ugh. Don't remind me. I think I figured out whose spirit was the one causing the problems – but …this history teacher…who's been helping me said the body was already burned back when she died. I have no idea how to stop it."

"Well, is it like that doll hair from the creepy painting case? Part of her remains are around, but somewhere else?"

"Not that I know of – I mean, it could be, but there's no way of knowing."

"Hmm…Well, I'm about ready to get the hell out of Palo Alto for awhile. Let's head out today and get this ghost taken care of."

Dean stared at his brother for awhile, trying to decide if Sam was as okay as he said he was. "Alright. I'm going to go get some gas – give you time to say your goodbyes. I'll be back in a little bit."

"Sounds good."

Dean left, and Sam went first to the living room, gently shaking Becky awake. He explained that he and Dean were leaving today, but they would be back again someday. She was too tired to do much but smile and hug Sam, before rolling over and going back to sleep. Sam chuckled as he made his way down the hallway. He stopped briefly outside Maia's door, before quickly moving to Jake and Sarah's.

He knocked softly and let himself in to see the couple sitting up in alarm. When they saw it was him, Jake dropped his head back down to the pillow with a thunk and a yawn. Sarah smiled and held out her arms. Grinning back, Sam made his way over and sat next to her on the bed, hugging her tight. By that time, Jake had sat back up and pulled Sam over into a hug as well.

"Don't scare me like that again, buddy."

"Sorry. And…I'm sorry I never told you."

"Hey. I probably wouldn't have either. It is kinda a big secret." Jake grinned. "But I'm glad I know now."

"Me too," Sarah piped in. "And I'm sorry I reacted so badly the other day. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt."

"That's okay." Sam smiled, a little sad that his friends wouldn't have the normalcy he wanted for them, but also pretty glad that things were finally out in the open – and that they still wanted and accepted his friendship. "Listen, Dean and I are going to head out today." He held up a hand as Jake started to protest. "We have to; there's still a ghost to take care of in Sacramento."

Jake sighed. "Alright. But don't wait so long until you come back for another visit, okay? You're still _my_ brother too…"

Sam grinned. "Right back at you."

Pulling himself away from Sarah's second clinging hug, he left the room and made his way back to Maia's door. He took a deep breath and released it, trying to gather courage. He didn't know why this was so difficult for him, given the dangers he had to face in the past. Knocking, he waited for the "come in" instead of barging in like he had with Jake and Sarah.

Sam opened the door slowly, saw Maia looking at him with wide, uncertain eyes. Smiling slightly, Sam entered and quickly shut the door behind him. Walking over to stand next to her bed, he cleared his throat and stuck his hands in his pockets, uncomfortable and unsure of what to say. Deciding to stick to the basics, he blurted out "I'm sorry for not telling you everything."

Maia let out a wry laugh. "That's okay. I mean, we technically just met a couple days ago. I can't expect you to do for me what you didn't do for your friends and Jess."

Sam shook his head. "You know, everyone's being surprisingly understanding about all this."

"I think it's because you're such a great guy. People will forgive you anything." Maia beamed at him, a twinkle in her eye that caused Sam to laugh outright. "Plus, it kinda helps when we actually _see_ it happening."

Sam nodded. "Listen. I wanted to let you know that Dean and I are going to be heading out in a little bit. But…uh…if it's alright with you, I'd like to come back and visit you sometime."

Maia looked down at her knees, unable to meet his eye. "Are you sure? Because we all know that you were experiencing life with Jess while you were unconscious. I'd understand if you …"

"Maia – I really do want to see you, see where this could lead. I won't lie and say I'm completely over what happened. Or that I'll ever stop loving Jess. A couple of days ago, I would have said I was over her. Now...I know I probably never will be completely. But I do want to move on, and I know she wants me to too. I meant it when I said that I could fall in love with you."

Maia finally looked back up at him, a wide grin stretching across her face. "I think I could love you too, Sam."

Sam smiled back, quickly crossing the remaining distance to sit beside her on the bed. "And I want to do it right this time – no lying. I want you to know who and what I am."

"Okay," Maia couldn't stop from laughing at the earnest expression on Sam's face.

"I don't have time right now to explain everything, but we can write, or e-mail, or call…and I'll get Dean to let us visit whenever we can. I can't ask you to wait for me forever. I want a life with you someday, but…I can't just yet." Sam smiled a small, mysterious smile, making Maia wonder what he was thinking about. "Because I still have some work to do."

"I understand," Maia said softly. They looked into each other's eyes for a second, before Maia leaned forward onto her knees and pulled Sam into an embrace. She kissed him deeply, passionately. Pulling back, she winked at him. "Something to remember me by."

Sam laughed and gathered her back in his arms, lying with her and holding her until he heard Dean come back into the house. Sighing, Sam turned to kiss Maia on the forehead and stood to leave the room. At the door, he stopped to look back at her. Waving slightly, he turned and walked away, once again returning to the world of hunting.

Dean knew better than to say anything as they loaded up the car and drove off. Metallica in the background was the only noise as Sam watched as they drove past a sign informing them they were "Now leaving Palo Alto." Like the last time they had driven out of town, Sam felt conflicted. He was leaving a girl and friends he loved. But he wasn't entirely sad this time – because he knew he'd be back someday.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

They were still about a half an hour outside of Sacramento, even with Dean's not quite legal driving. For most of the journey, the two hadn't talked – just listened to Dean's tape collection and their own inner thoughts. However, when a road sign informed them they were so close to the city, Sam had asked for more details on the case.

Dean explained what had happened at the school, including the recent death. Sam could tell that that was still eating Dean up inside, but he decided not to call his brother on it yet. Dean then started to explain what he knew about the ghost, with Sam noting how much his brother _didn't_ say about the history teacher who told him the story.

There was one part that stuck out to him though. "Wait…so everything you know about this ghost is from this Viola? You didn't do any research on the story yourself?"

Dean, if possible, looked even guiltier than before. "No…I, uh, well, I kinda got distracted. And, when I did do research, it was more to find out a way to get rid of a ghost when there's nothing to salt and burn."

The two lapsed into silence again, but Dean could tell Sam was thinking something. When he couldn't take it anymore, he glanced over in his brother. "Spill it."

"Well, it's silly…I mean, it's just her name. But you said she was named after Shakespeare's Viola, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, in the story, in order to protect herself, Viola lied to everyone, even the man she loved, about who she really was."

Dean was silent for a few seconds, attention seemingly fixed on the highway ahead.

"Huh," was the response when it finally came, but Sam also noted that the Impala started to pick up speed.

* * *

Dean pulled into the parking lot of the hotel he had been staying at, running into the office to switch his single room to a double while Sam grabbed their bags and his computer. Dropping all the bags on Dean's bed, he took the computer to his and sat cross-legged while booting it up. Dean, meanwhile, paced for a few minutes, clearly trying to get rid of some energy. Sighing in annoyance, Sam told him to go get them some food.

By the time Dean came back with a couple burgers and beers, Sam had already found several Web sites that confirmed what Viola had told Dean, and he told his brother as much.

"So she didn't lie about the ghost?" Sam smiled, as his brother's tone confirmed exactly how Dean had been "distracted." Not that he needed that much confirmation…

"No. I told you, it was silly. It's just her name; doesn't mean she's a liar." Sam shut down the computer and laid backwards with a sigh. His back hurt from hunching over for so long. "We're just too paranoid."

"But," Sam added, with a smile. "I did find something that might help."

Dean raised his eyebrows in interest, taking a swig from his bottle. "What's that?"

"Well, the bullet that hit Mary Lister didn't get lodged in her body – it went right through. And, apparently the blacksmith at the time was close friends with her family. He wanted something good to come from the tragedy, so he melted the bullet down along with some other metal and reformed it into a plate with an engraving of a California Poppy on it – Mary's favorite flower."

A smile slowly spread across Dean's face. "And where is that plate now?"

Sam answered his smile with one of his own. "A trophy case at the high school."

* * *

Dean and Sam walked quickly through the halls of the school, pinning their visitors badges on as they did so. Dean had a pretty good feeling that the plate would be somewhere in the haunted hallway, but he wanted to make sure before they broke back in to the school later that night. Also, he figured he'd better tell Bill what was going on.

Still fiddling with the badge's pin that just did _not_ want to poke through his shirt, Dean had his head down when he turned the corner – and walked right into someone.

"Oof." Instinctively, Dean reached out to grab the person he hit before she fell down. Dean's eyes widened when he saw who it was. His traitorous heart leapt, but his brain told him to ignore the thrill of having her in his arms again. He schooled his face into a look of polite greeting … and nothing more.

She, meanwhile, radiated happiness at the sight of him. "Dean!"

Viola regained her balance, and Dean immediately let her go, unsure of how he would react if he held her much longer. "Where have you been? I called you…"

She trailed off, obviously fighting an inner battle between curiosity and not wanting to seem like a clingy, stalker type already planning their wedding.

Dean had the good grace to at least fake being apologetic, even though he proceeded to lie through his teeth. "I'm sorry. I just got your messages this morning. I had to go pick up my brother, and I forgot my phone. Didn't even realize it until I was too far to turn back around."

She immediately brightened, accepting the excuse. Sam, meanwhile turned his head to hide the fact he was suppressing a snort of disbelief at his brother's words. Turning back to the woman, Sam decided to give Dean a taste of his own medicine. He held out his hand with a huge grin on his face.

"I'm Sam. You must be Viola. I've heard a _lot_ about you." Sam continued to smile at her, inwardly chuckling at the glare Dean was sending his way.

"Nice to meet you, Sam." Viola turned back to Dean. "Can I take you guys to dinner tonight?"

Sam was about to gush that they would just _love _to, when Dean interrupted, a coldness in his voice that the younger Winchester couldn't quite understand.

"I'm sorry, Viola. I'll actually be finishing up my … article tonight. And then it's about time Sam and I hit the road again." Dean couldn't meet her eyes as disappointment flooded into them. "Oh look… there's Bill."

Dean took off, while Sam, with a quick smile of apology to Viola, ran to catch up. He whispered loudly at Dean.

"That was a little harsh, Dean. You didn't have to do that – we know she wasn't lying about the ghost, and there's no reason we can't stick around for a little while."

"What's the point, Sam? Even if she isn't evil, that doesn't mean things are going to go anywhere."

"Why not?"

Dean ignored the question as, luckily, they reached Bill. Quickly introducing Sam to the teacher, he then explained what they had learned about the plate made from the fatal bullet.

"Oh!" Bill nodded. "I know what you're talking about. Come on."

Bill led them to a trophy case that was, as Dean expected, in the haunted hallway. Dean didn't even glance in her direction, but Sam immediately noted Viola watching them from her classroom door a little further down the hall.

"There." Sam focused back on Bill, who was pointing at a metal plate, the engraved flower still visible even though it was faded. It was in a case with other artifacts from the city's early history. "I don't think the school knows the story behind this – it just asks for things from the historical society to display."

"Alright." Dean clapped Bill on the shoulder. "We'll take care of it tonight."

"Thanks, Dean. I owe you … again!"

Dean turned to lead the way back to the main office to check out. By how he so pointedly _not_ looked in Viola's direction, Sam knew Dean knew she was there. Shaking his head, he followed his brother.

* * *

It was a quiet, warm night. Leaving the Impala a few blocks away as to not draw any unwanted attention, the brothers cut through shadows toward the high school.

Reaching the same side door Dean had used the last time he broke in, Sam crouched in front of it with his lockpicking tools. Dean stood slightly behind him, eyes scanning around for any potential problems. His gun was back in the waistband of his jeans.

Sam pushed the door open and stood, leading the way into the school. Making their way to the haunted hallway, the brothers tried not to make any sound. Reaching the trophy case first, Sam stopped abruptly, causing Dean to crash into his back.

"God, Sam."

"Sorry." Sam pointed at the case. Dean's stomach dropped as he saw it no longer contained the plate.

"What the hell?"

A soft crash down the hall was enough to cause both men quickly turn and look. Seeing light coming from underneath Viola's door, the brothers shared a pointed look and silently walked forward. Dean reached behind him for his gun, while Sam grabbed the door handle. Dean nodded, Sam opened the door quickly and stepped aside as Dean moved forward, his gun immediately trained on Viola.

She looked up, startled, and almost dropped the plate in her hands.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"What the hell is going on?" Dean exclaimed, lowering the gun but not quite yet putting it away.

Viola looked at Dean with a stern, disdainful expression on her face, clearly no longer saddened by his earlier behavior and instead pissed off. "I'm getting ready to melt this plate to get rid of Mary's ghost. Obviously."

Dean's eyes bugged out of his head, while Sam couldn't stop himself from laughing outright.

"You're a hunter?" Sam asked.

"Not really. This is the first case I've ever worked on. My brother was a hunter."

Dean collected his wits, even though Sam could tell he was still upset by this turn of events. "Let's get rid of the plate, and then we can talk about this elsewhere." His voice was all business – devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

As Viola knew the school better, the brothers followed her to the boiler room. Sam opened the hatch to the furnace and Viola threw the plate in. The three watched silently as the metal began to melt.

"That's it?" Viola asked, incredulous.

"Yep. That's it." Dean said, not bothering to look at her. "We'll meet you at your place." Reminiscent of this morning, Dean turned on his heel and took off without a backwards glance, leaving Sam to once again smile and run to catch up.

* * *

Sam and Viola were sitting on the couch, but an angry Dean remained standing, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Viola.

Uncomfortable, she cleared her throat. "Well, I guess I should introduce myself first…"

Dean interrupted. "Wait! Your name's not even Viola?"

"No…but I _am_ named after a Shakespeare character – Emilia. And it is Dawson. Most people call me Em."

Sam looked confused. "Why'd your parents name you Emilia…wasn't she married to the villain in _Othello_?"

"Yeah, but she stood up to him – ended up sacrificing herself to defend her friend."

"True." Sam nodded thoughtfully. "But she also had some … questionable … ethics. She told Desdemona she would have an affair."

Emilia raised a finger. "But…she said she'd only do it if it helped her husband. Not to mention, she said men only had themselves to blame for women's infidelity. She said they bring it upon themselves with their own actions." Emilia started to laugh. "I think my mom was trying to give my dad a subtle warning there…"

Sam laughed too, conceding the point. Dean, meanwhile, looked back and forth between them, a flabbergasted expression on his face. "While this literary debate is just _fascinating_, can we get back to the point?" Dean pointed an accusatory finger at Em. "You _lied_ to me."

Sam scoffed. "Dude, you lied to her too."

Em gave Dean a pointed look, leaning back on the couch to cross both her arms and legs, clearly waiting to hear Dean's response to _that_ one.

Dean sputtered for a second before an "ah-ha" expression crossed his face. "It's _different_ – she must have known I was a hunter, given the fact that she just came out and said she was taking care of a ghost."

Em's cat-that-ate-the-canary expression quickly faded into guilt. "OK, I admit it. My brother had mentioned a Dean and Sam Winchester before."

"_See. _It's different because you knew you could have told me the truth. How was I to know I could tell you the truth?"

Em leaned forward again, looking at Dean earnestly. "Look, I get that you're upset. But, in the long run, isn't this a _good_ thing? Now we don't have to worry about keeping things from each other."

To Em, it looked like Dean continued looking at her with a blank, stoic expression. Sam, who knew his brother's expressions much better, could tell there were a lot of thoughts flying through his brother's head. He wondered which would dominate.

_

* * *

_

She's right. She's a hunter. Maybe this could work…

_No, she lied to me. I don't even know who she is._

_Yeah, but Sam's right – I lied too._

_But what about the Djinn. I already decided I didn't get to have a life. _

_But why do I have to sacrifice everything? Don't I get to have anything?_

_Think about it – people will die if I'm not focused on hunting. Sammy might go dark side. I might not be able to get the demon for Dad. We're always on the road. There's just no way…_

_But she might be "the one."_

_I don't get to have a "one." That's not in the cards for me. When am I finally going to get that through my head?"_

* * *

Dean reached into his pocket, grabbed the keys and threw them across the living room to Sam. "Go wait in the car."

Sam huffed in annoyance, but obeyed. The second he was out the door, Dean met Em's eyes, again trying not to convey any of the emotions he was actually feeling.

"Look, sweetheart, I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression. Nothing's going to happen here. I _don't_ do the dating thing." Dean's heart broke at the expression on Em's face, but that didn't stop him from turning his back on her and following Sam out the door.

Telling herself that she should have known better, Em angrily wiped away the tears that were starting to fall. Wanting to punish herself even more …wanting to see him one last time…she walked over to her window and pushed aside the curtain. As she watched, Dean quickly walked out of her building, lowered himself into the driver's seat, and sped out of her life.

THE END

* * *

NOW do you want to read a Dean sequel? :)

Can you tell I'm reading a lot of Shakespeare for school?

Thanks for sticking with me to the end, and giving such nice reviews!


	23. Chapter 23

Hello everyone,

I have a sequel for this started, and a couple of chapters have already been posted. However, for some reason, it's not showing up in the list of stories, and I haven't been getting very many readers.

Therefore, if you liked this story and would like to read the sequel, please look under my profile, or do a search for "Wayward Son."

Thanks!

Edie Zee


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